Dancing With Danger
by Diabetic.T1
Summary: Set after 2x01: The curse is real, Klaus is coming, and Katherine is in Mystic Falls. "No one will hurt you. I promise you, Elena," Damon said with determination in his eyes. "I'll do whatever I have to do in order to be with you." Elena stared into his blue eyes and knew that Damon meant every word. There was no escaping him, and she didn't want too.
1. Just the Beginning

**Author's Note-So until I get my muse back, this is a small, SMALL story about Damon and Elena second season. This doesn't follow the show that much. Also, this takes place at the end of season 2, episode 1 except Jeremy doesn't interfere. Review and Enjoy my perverse mind!**

* * *

Damon held his world in the palm of his hand. He literally could feel her unblemished skin, see the tears in her eyes, and smell the cherry shampoo radiating from her clean skin. Elena Gilbert would be the end of him.

And if she was the end, then he wanted just one lick of her pure innocence. Although she wasn't really innocent. He saw the way Elena acted when she thought no one was looking. Her definition of scandal was eating the whole chocolate cake when no one was looking; letting Jeremy get blamed when she sneaks the dessert up to her room. Or when she licks her luscious lips in anticipation. She had wandering eyes that like to look at his lips whenever he pushes her boundaries.

Yes, Damon Salvatore, is in love with Elena.

The way she stretches in the morning and her shirt lifts up just the slightest. He gets a peak of her tan, smooth skin before she lowers her arms again. The way she closes her eyes and inhales her hot chocolate like it is the most precious drink in the world when she starts her day and Stefan is taking too long in the shower.

Damon gets spare moments with her when they sometimes say nothing or when other times she's in a very talkative mood like the time she was anxious about her history test.

"So," she had started the moment she sat at the island in the middle of the kitchen.

Damon had looked up at her over his newspaper and quirked an eye brow.

"There was a war back in 1860s, right?" Elena knew the answer, but she looked so nervous bringing up that topic that Damon hid his smile behind the paper and narrowed his eyes playfully.

"If you're referring to the war that I fought in, then yes Elena, there was a war." Damon looked her over and noticed the thin cotton shirt she was wearing, the outline of her nude bra showing a little. She had squeezed in to tight jeans and was wearing a pair of knee high boots for the colder season. Shifting uncomfortably in his seat, Damon cleared his throat to pull his mind out of the gutter. "What's this about?"

She tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear and then took a sip of her hot chocolate that Damon had prepared for her before she even came down the stairs. "Well…you see, Alaric is testing us today and I didn't exactly read the chapter the night before…and this chapter just happens to be about the Civil War and…"

Damon stopped listening to Elena's cute ramblings. He tuned her out the moment she admitted to not reading because he knew that she skipped her homework the night before. He could hear her and Stefan as if they were in the room next to his. Damon sometimes swore that Stefan purposefully tried to be loud just to compete with him; stake his claim on Elena.

But Elena on the other hand sounded magnificent; however, Damon knew that she could scream louder. But he was forced to listen and sometimes when Damon knew that it was going to be a long night of listening, he would picture himself with Elena. It was perverse and dirty, but he had no other options. And in his mind Elena didn't stop moaning or calling out his name. He had her in various positions in his head and they never stopped.

And so Damon told her about the civil war that morning while Stefan took his time getting ready for school. They laughed and Damon even told her stories about his troop; stories that not even Stefan had heard because Stefan had just been a kid when he went off to war and now he just didn't care to listen.

But now Damon and Elena weren't laughing in his kitchen. Now, they were in her bedroom, she fresh out of the shower and him smelling of bourbon. Katherine had messed with his head and now he only wanted one thing: Elena.

"Damon," she pleaded while his hands ran through her silky strands. "I care about you…I do, but—" And then his lips were against hers again. She tried pulling away, but he pushed her body against the wall. One of her hands reached up to try to find a grip from the hard impact, and so Damon's hand followed and held it above their heads. His fingers laced with her own while his other hand held her waist in a tight embrace.

She turned her head away; making struggling noises but Damon blocked those out. It was very easy to let his mind slip away with the help from the bourbon he drank.

"Damon," she murmured again while squeezing her eyes shut. "Please don't."

"Just one time," he chanted against her skin. "Just one time and then you'll see; you'll love me."

But the less Elena struggled and just stood still, the more Damon realized the situation was all wrong. She wasn't wrapping her arms around his neck. She wasn't kissing him as if she loved him. She wasn't giving herself over like he wanted.

He rested his forehead against her exposed collar dejectedly while his hands dropped from her body. Damon felt Elena stiffen underneath him before tentatively putting her arms around him in a hug.

At some point in the hug he started murmuring _I'm sorry_ over and over again.

"It's okay," Elena reassured him quietly. He saw her glance up and over his back for a brief second before slowly rubbing circles into his back. "Shh…we don't want to wake Jeremy. It's a school night."

"Come on." Elena led Damon over to her bed and they sat down. She no longer had her hands around him but they were sitting shoulder to shoulder.

Damon could see her out of his peripheral vision. Elena was blushing slightly, her hair tangled due to his force, and her nipples hard underneath her thin tank top. He looked at her curiously and breathed in silently.

She was aroused. Her scent filled her room.

"What Damon?" Elena snapped but instantly regretted it because she offered him a small smile before softening up a bit. "Are you okay now?"

He forced himself on her. That had been the first time in his whole existence that he had ever forced himself on someone. Not even his one night stands had to be coerced. However, his feelings for Elena made him go crazy and she enjoyed it physically at least.

"You fascinate me," he said with bewilderment.

"I…um…thank you?" She stumbled over her words while fixing her hair with no use.

A faint blush coated her cheeks and Damon scooted closer, turning his body. He was making her uncomfortable again, but the alcohol in him didn't care. Images of Katherine in his head soaked his memories and all his pent up anger came rushing back.

_It will always be Stefan. _

But what about him? Huh? Didn't he ever get the girl? Apparently not. But Damon wanted to change that.

"You're scared of me," Damon smirked as he crawled up her bed. Elena backed up so her back hit her headboard.

"You're drunk," she stated plainly. "And obviously hurt about something."

Damon put his hand on her upper thigh, his cold hand touching her warm skin. Elena jumped out of bed and crossed her arms.

"You need to leave," she said quickly. "Now."

Damon stood up and appraised Elena with his eyes. He watched her shudder from his cold, harsh orbs. "It may be Stefan for now, but I'll wait. I'll always wait."

He made his way to her open window; looked back once and sent her a wink before disappearing into the night. He could still smell Elena from the end of the driveway where his baby blue car was parked. The scent of Elena would forever be scorched into his memories.


	2. Normal

**Author's Note-Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favorite, and followed my story. It means a lot to me. This story is going to be different from season 2, however, this chapter is similar to some of the events that happened. Soon though, we will have a break through and something major will happen with our favorite characters.**

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"So the shipment of toys and stuffed animals will be coming in after school. Are you going to be able to pick them up at the front entrance of school? I have cheer practice and Caroline would kill me if I missed that."

Bonnie continued to talk to Elena at their lockers while the brunette beauty stared straight ahead. She was resting her back against her locker while clutching her history books to her chest. She watched the countless students walk past them to get to their next class, but Elena couldn't concentrate. There was only one thing on her mind and that person didn't go to school nor was he even a human.

"Elena?" Bonnie called out while waving her hand in front of Elena's face. "Earth to Elena. Are you even listening?"

Elena snapped out of it and put on a smile. The thoughts of the previous night pushed to the back of her mind. "What? Yeah, I can get the animals."

"Are you okay?" Bonnie asked with worry.

"I'm just tired. It's been a busy week, you know?"

"Come on; let's go to gym before we're late. And at lunch we have to go over the other million things that need to get done for this carnival. I can't believe Caroline is missing it." Bonnie looped her arm through Elena's and dragged her friend along.

Elena tried to push her memories of Damon out of her mind, but she couldn't. She had waited the night before, making sure that Damon wasn't coming back before she had slipped under her covers. Her skin had been hot and slightly damp with arousal. She couldn't believe that Damon had turned her on like that and what was worse was that he knew it too.

But she was in love with Stefan. She didn't have feelings for Damon. That's what she told herself over and over again. She loves Stefan. It will always be Stefan.

As the day passed by at a slow pace Elena was finally done with school. She and Stefan were waiting at the front door of their school for the delivery. She was leaning against the wall with Stefan right next to her. He was turned towards her and was looking at her with concern.

"You okay? You seem distant today." He pushed a piece of hair behind her ear. "You'd tell me if something was bothering you, right?"

Elena smiled tightly. "I'm fine," she lied. But she really wasn't. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't get Damon out of her mind. It wasn't that she was daydreaming about him, sweeping her off her feet. No, all she could think about was his nerve to claim her as his. What had gotten into him that made him that drunk and unreasonable. Elena was just lucky that Damon didn't use his vampire strength against her, or else she really could have been in trouble the night before.

"If it's about Katherine, then don't worry. She's disappeared already." Stefan smiled. "She left last night in a blur. Damon must have said something to her to get under her skin."

This caught Elena's attention right away. "She was with Damon last night?"

Stefan seemed taken aback. "Uh…yeah. Believe me, it was not something I wanted to hear."

It all made sense now. Katherine and Damon had to have fought and then he came to her house. Katherine was the one to upset him. She messed with his mind.

"Hey," Stefan cooed. He covered her body with his and smiled down at her. "Everything is going to be okay." He lightly covered her mouth with his own and everything felt perfect in that moment. "I promise you; tonight there will be no talk about supernatural occurrences or vampire business. Tonight is all about you and me being normal."

Elena smiled up and him and giggled. "I like the sound of that."

* * *

When Elena walked into her room that afternoon she was in need of a nice, warm shower to relax herself. She had taken a test in math that day, finished all the carnival chores Caroline assigned her and Bonnie, and now she was expected back at the school in two hours to start the fair.

Just as she entered her room and was about to take off her shirt she jumped in surprise. Damon was sitting on her window seat, casually crossing his ankles over one another while wearing his smirk.

"By all means, continue what you were about to do," he said cockily.

Elena scowled. Seeing Damon and dealing with their issues wasn't on her list of things to do that day. "What do you want Damon? I'm in a hurry."

"Can't a neighbor just come and check on their friends?" He asked but Elena didn't buy his façade. Damon stood up and Elena watched him warily. She took a step back when he advanced and let out a quiet breath the moment Damon stopped a foot in front of her. He looked at her curiously. "I don't usually do this, but I overstepped my boundaries yesterday night. I'm…sorry," he finally said.

Elena looked him over and saw the sincerity in his eyes, the straight lines of his pink lips, and the hidden worry that always seemed to be present behind his dark blue orbs whenever he was near her. And then Elena remembered that Katherine had been with Damon the night before too. It wasn't Damon's fault that Katherine was a manipulative person.

"Thank you," she said softly.

Elena went over to her dresser and started removing her earrings and necklace. She looked at Damon through the mirror and noticed him looking at her curiously. She froze with her arms up and her hands behind her neck on the clasp of the necklace Stefan gave her.

Elena shut her eyes; pretending that Damon wasn't walking over to her. She tried her hardest to block out his soft fingers on the back of her neck, the way they removed her own hands from the clasp only to replace them with his. He pushed her hair off to one shoulder and laid her necklace down on the dresser.

Continuing to keep her eyes shut; that was the only way Elena could convince herself that this moment wasn't happening, she found herself sighing softly when his hand returned to the inside of her neck, rubbing soft circles on her skin. His other hands wrapped around her side and played with the ends of her hair.

She could feel his breath on her neck. Elena didn't need her eyes open to know that Damon was watching them through the mirror. Lips trembling, she braced her hands on her dresser for support the moment Damon kneeled his forehead against the back of her head, dragging his nose down her neck and inhaling.

The hand that was creating soft touches on her skin trailed down the outline of her breast and continued stroking until he touched the hem of her shirt. Damon daringly slipped two fingers under to touch her toned stomach.

"Damon," Elena purred. She didn't know if she meant for him to stop or to keep going but his lips were ghosting over her neck in such a precious way that her knees felt like jell-o.

Elena knew this was wrong. Damon wasn't Stefan, but yet, her body responded to his as if they already knew each other. The raven haired man touched her as if she were a fine wine. He worshipped and took his time all the while making Elena know just what he intended to do. Stefan sometimes jumped too soon, but Elena had been okay with that. She was used to quick movements, no touching of the neck whatsoever, and her body accepted that about Stefan. However, Damon was different. Her body didn't know what to expect and that scared Elena.

Slowly, Elena meant to pull away, she meant to move her hands off of her dresser. However, the moment she moved a centimeter Damon used his vampire speed and caught her two hands with one of his. He held them strictly and Elena tensed in his arms.

"Open your eyes, Elena," he husked out. It wasn't a question either. Damon was demanding it. His mouth was at her ear now and she tilted her head back a little. Lips trailed a line down the column of her exposed skin. "I won't ask twice," he whispered.

Elena did as he said and saw their reflection in the mirror.

"Elena?" Jeremy asked as he barged into her room through the bathroom door. He froze like a deer in headlights while Elena jumped and pushed Damon away. The moment now ruined.

"What Jere?" She squeaked out. Elena had never been so happy to see her brother than in that moment. She was blushing and sweating slightly due to being caught red-handed tangled in Damon's embrace.

Jeremy narrowed his eyes and looked between Damon and his sister. Elena could see the questions turning through his brother's head and she cleared her throat to catch his attention.

"Did you need something?" She straightened out her shirt and caught a glimpse of Damon's smug look. She narrowed her eyes at the vampire but that didn't stop Damon from smirking like he just stole a cookie from the cookie jar.

"I think this is my cue to leave." Damon grabbed his jacket from the window seat and swung it on. Before he jumped out the window like the previous night he turned around. "By the way, you smell like cherries Elena. I like it."

And then Damon disappeared.

Elena was left with a very confused Jeremy.

"Seriously? You're cheating on your boyfriend with his older brother?" Jeremy asked as he crossed his arms. Elena felt like she was being scolded by her father.

"It's not like that," she mumbled. It really wasn't. She got carried away for one minute. But when she looked at her clock her eyes almost bulged out of her head. Damon and her had been together for thirty minutes; touching and stealing light caresses, but the embracing didn't feel soft and light. It was electric and shocking.

Damon was danger.

"It won't happen again," Elena said with determination.

Jeremy raised his eye brows but shrugged anyways. Elena sensed that he had more to say but he didn't and Elena was grateful because she didn't even know how to explain what Damon and she just did.

"When you go to the fair can I catch a ride please?" He asked.

"Of course Jere. I just have to shower and then we can go."

* * *

So far the carnival was succeeding and the students, faculty, and town all seemed to be enjoying themselves. Bonnie and Elena were running themselves ragged, however, and they didn't actually get to take a minute to enjoy themselves as much as they wanted. It seemed every time Elena finished talking to someone else who was going through a 'crisis' then the next person would come up to her with their issues. First, the face painting stand couldn't find all their paint. Then the electrical socket for the Ferris Wheel wasn't working. Next, the prizes ran out at the basketball shooting stand.

"I'll go get more of the prizes. They're inside the school," Elena told Jamie, one of her old cheerleading friends.

"Thanks Elena!"

Elena sighed while resting her forehead against Stefan's shoulder. "I'm sorry," she mumbled. She didn't know if she was apologizing because she still felt guilty about getting carried away with Damon in her bedroom or the fact that she hadn't gotten to spend that much quality time with Stefan that night.

"It's okay," he cooed softly while rubbing her back. "I kinda figured you'd be busy tonight. Come on," he encouraged. "I'll come with you."

Stefan and she walked hand in hand towards the school. It felt nice, normal, and safe to be walking side by side with Stefan. That whole night had started off as one big guilt trip for Elena and so she made it her mission to coo after Stefan, shower him with soft touches and stolen moments. She didn't want him guessing what happened between her and Damon because that would never happen again. Ever. Elena would make sure of it.

Once they got inside they ran into the one and only Damon who nearly ran them over with his long, hurried strides.

"Damon?" Stefan asked.

"Good, you two are already here. We need to have a little powwow." Damon latched onto Elena's other arm and it was like the festival and parade day all over again; Elena felt as if she were being escorted by both Salvatore's, however, she gritted her teeth and tried to yank her arm free from Damon.

"What are you talking about?" Stefan asked.

"We have a Katherine situation," Damon stage whispered. "And it involves Blondie."

It took Elena a second to know who Damon was talking about. "You mean Caroline? But she's in the hospital still."

"That's what I thought until she showed up and threw me down the hallway." Damon looked around before gripping the doorknob and using vampire strength, snapping the piece off so the door opened.

Elena didn't even have a chance to roll her eyes at his behavior because they had more pressing matters at hand. If Caroline was able to throw Damon down the hallway then that only meant one thing: she was a vampire.

Stefan sat on the edge of a desk with his arms crossed. "So you're saying Caroline Forbes is a vampire and that Katherine turned her?"

Damon snapped his fingers with fake enthusiasm. "That's exactly what I just said! Good job Stef!" He sat on top of the teachers desk and smirked. "Katherine also gave us a message. Game on."

"What does that even mean?" Stefan asked.

Elena looked down at the ground as she let this information set in. It could only mean one thing. Katherine was upset about something and that didn't seem good. The vampire was crazy and revengeful. John Gilbert could confirm that with his one hand.

"It means she's not happy that she's not getting her way. She wants you baby bro; no one else." Damon flared his eyes towards Elena, but she ignored him.

"But why Caroline? She did nothing wrong," Elena voiced.

"I don't know, but I do know there's only one thing we can do." Damon stood up with a smug look. "You know we have to do it Stefan."

Elena looked between the brothers with dread. She had an inkling what Damon was talking about but it couldn't be true. She jumped up from her seat and shook her head.

"No! No way Damon. We are not killing Caroline. She's my best friend." Elena searched Damon's face for any sympathy but then she turned towards Stefan. She knew that Stefan wouldn't allow this to happen.

"Damon," Stefan said slowly as if he didn't even believe what he was about to say. "We can't kill Caroline."

"Don't you two remember the Vicki Donovan situation? This is going to end very badly and we can't afford to be outed right now; especially by Blondie's mother."

"Caroline is not Vicki," Elena pronounced. She took a step forward so she was directly in front of Damon. "Vicki was a druggie who had control issues and a lot of other personal things but Caroline is different. She will learn; just like you two."

"It took us years to learn; and still Stefan can't be around human blood. What's going to happen when Caroline is with the quarterback, they start getting a little hot and heavy, and then she's at his neck? Huh? Is she going to resist the bloodlust then?" Damon looked down at her with an unknown look that Elena didn't understand.

Elena thought she was winning when she softened her face and looked at him with big, wide eyes. "She's my friend Damon. Please don't do it."

Time seemed to stand still as Elena waited for Damon to say something. He was still giving her the same look. It seemed as if he was pitying her; trying to understand what it felt like to lose a friend. However, Damon didn't care for anyone and that showed with his next decision.

"I'm going to find Caroline, and when I do then I'm going to take care of this little problem. We can't have a rogue vampire running around Mystic Falls." Damon walked out of the room and he ignored Elena's pleading voice. He blocked out her tears that fell. And most importantly, he ignored the awful feeling in his stomach that told him this was a bad idea.

* * *

Elena was running around the carnival like a crazy person. When people tried to stop to talk she brushed them off as nicely as possible. When some of the students who were running the booths needed her she pushed past them. All that mattered was finding Caroline before Damon. She didn't know how she was going to stop Damon, but she had to try.

"Elena!" Bonnie called, running to catch up to her. Elena didn't stop though as she kept scanning the crowds. "Elena! What's wrong?"

"Have you seen Caroline?" Elena asked while craning her head to see past people.

"She's out of the hospital?" Bonnie asked. When Elena didn't answer she put her hand on Elena's arm and forced her to look at her. "What's wrong?"

"She's out and Katherine paid her a visit." Tears pooled in Elena's eyes. "I'm sorry Bonnie. She had Damon's blood in her system and Katherine…turned her."

Elena waited for the tears to fill Bonnie's eyes but nothing happened. Instead, anger shot through Bonnie. Her eyes narrowed and she saw red.

"Bonnie? We have to find her. Have you seen her? I have to find her before Damon does."

This snapped Bonnie out of her anger. "I haven't seen her but I'll help you look."

As they ran through the crowds, scanning the various people Elena heard Bonnie muttering to herself.

"This is all Damon's fault. I'm going to kill him. His fault," Bonnie kept repeating to herself over and over again. "If she kills someone…she'll never be the same again. I'll kill him."

Elena didn't know who she felt more scared for: Caroline who was being hunted by Damon or for Damon who was going to be hunted by Bonnie. Elena just hoped that Bonnie would cool off soon. It wasn't Damon's fault Caroline was turned. This was all Katherine's mistake.

"There!" Elena pointed out finally. "Behind the Ferris Wheel."

Elena and Bonnie wasted no time in running over to the Ferris Wheel. The lights were slowly dimming and the crowds were thinning out. By the time they reached Caroline and Damon there was hardly any lights and no one else was around.

"Damon!" Elena called out. "Don't hurt her."

"You!" Caroline screeched. "You killed me! Why?" The blonde pleaded with blood smeared all over her chin. There was a dead body of a carnival worker lying at her feet while Damon held a stake in his hand. "Why did you do this to me?"

"No, Caroline, it's me. I'm Elena. I didn't do this. You know that." Elena slowly approached her friend who couldn't stop crying.

Everything happened in a blur. Damon used vampire speed to stake Caroline, however, Stefan appeared out of nowhere and shielded Caroline from Damon's weapon. Meanwhile, Elena flung herself between Caroline and Damon and so the stake Damon was holding pointed directly towards Elena's heart.

She was heaving drastically from the exertion while Damon stared down at her with wide, flared eyes. Elena slowly raised her hands to Damon's stake and covered his hand with her own. His skin was cold and soft and so she rubbed circles to soothe him.

"Please Damon. Don't do this. Be the better man," Elena murmured.

There was a pause before Damon slowly lowered his weapon. "Whatever happens is because of you now."

When Damon walked away Elena turned towards Stefan and a cowering Caroline. "You need to get her out of here."

"I know," he agreed. "I'll get her cleaned up and take her home."

After saying goodbye Elena saw Bonnie and Damon exchange words. Whatever they were saying didn't look too good though because all of a sudden Bonnie was chanting words and Damon was on the ground. A fire was starting and heading straight for Damon who stood no chance against Bonnie and her vengeful side.

"Bonnie!" Elena yelled. She tried to get to her friend but the fire was building higher and higher. It was all over Damon's legs and the smell of flesh burning filled her nostrils. "Bonnie! Stop it!"

Bonnie wasn't listening and Elena looked back at Damon. He would die because of Bonnie and Bonnie would be a murderer. They couldn't be like this. Elena couldn't just let Damon die.

She leapt over the fire and shook Bonnie out of her trance. Bonnie had tears in her eyes as she looked over Elena's shoulders and saw the damage that she caused.

"You have to stop. It wasn't his fault," Elena said.

"Of course it was his fault! He fed Caroline his blood!" Bonnie yelled. "Everything is his fault, Elena!"

"You made him do that," Elena countered. "You told him to save Caroline and he did it. Katherine killed her; not Damon. And if you're going to blame Damon then you might as well blame yourself for telling him to do it."

Elena turned away from Bonnie and crouched down by Damon. His pants were definitely ruined, but at least he wasn't smoking or burning still.

"Are you okay?" Elena asked quietly. "Are you healing?"

"I'm fine," he grunted out.

"Here," Elena instructed while placing Damon's arm over her shoulder so she could help him up. "Let's just get out of here."

Bonnie looked at Elena in disgust.

"You're choosing him over me? Your best friend?" Bonnie threw her hands up in despair.

As Damon and Elena passed Bonnie they stopped. Damon glared at Bonnie and by this time Elena was too tired to play peacekeeper between them. They were both grown up so they could handle their issues by themselves from now on.

"Saving Caroline is the last thing I will ever do for you. If you don't stay out of my way from now on I will kill you." Damon smirked. "And trust me; I love a good burning of a witch."

Elena closed her eyes in hopes that she could block out Damon's threats. She didn't know why, but she wanted to keep his harsh words out of her mind. Elena didn't want to believe that Damon was still capable of hurting her friends.

* * *

**What do you think? You guys want more? Let me know! :)**


	3. You're Not My Boyfriend

**Author's Note-seriously, you guys are amazing. I love that you guys all seem to be enjoying the story so far. Let me know what you think of this one; especially the ending. Also, please remember that I'm not following season 2 that closely. And so I might use the same characters but I'm changing a few things to fit my plot.**

* * *

Elena stood in front of the fire place at the boarding house. It had been two hours since Stefan had taken Caroline away from the carnival. Elena wanted to call her friend and talk to her; she wanted to help Caroline however she knew that now was not the time. She would go over the next day when Mrs. Forbes was working her typical Saturday shift.

And now Elena was just waiting for Stefan. When she saw the clock she knew that it was going to be a long night of no sleep and so she made her way to the kitchen to make herself some hot chocolate.

Spotting her used mug in the sink she turned on the warm water and started washing the cup. Looking out the window she sighed while cleaning; not really paying attention to her surroundings. And so when Damon entered the kitchen through the back door she jumped and dropped her favorite mug in the sink. Tiny pieces broke and scattered, cutting her index finger in the process.

"Ow!" She exclaimed while looking down at the blood droplets on her finger. "Damon, you scared me."

Damon was right behind her, capturing her hands together and stopping Elena from picking up the spilled, sharp pieces. Elena tried to get her hands free to clean up her mess, but Damon wouldn't let her go.

"Hey, stop. Stop!" He demanded. Elena looked up at Damon and the sudden burst of fight left her and her shoulders sagged. "Let me help you."

The stress of the night came crashing down on Elena. Her feelings that she wanted to share with Stefan were now surfacing and Damon was going to listen to her. She didn't know why it was so important for Damon to know how she felt, but he had to hear her.

"You were going to kill her, Damon," Elena whimpered as tears threatened to fall from her eyes. "She's my best friend and you were going to…going too…"

Damon's thumb reached up and he collected her tears. His eyes seemed darker as Elena looked up at him in astonishment. Damon had always been complicated to her. One moment he was killing Vicki Donovan and the next he does something selfless and compels Jeremy's pain away. He came back to Mystic Falls to destroy the town and then he ends up saving them.

"Why are you only nice to me? Why can't you let others in?" Elena cried even more as Damon still held her hands together and caressed her cheek.

"Why is it so important for me to be nice to your friends?" Damon asked.

Damon wasn't her boyfriend. He shouldn't matter to Bonnie or Caroline or Matt, but to Elena, it did matter.

"Because," Elena stuttered as her eyes locked down and she stared at her bleeding hand. Damon's finger circled her wound before slowly, softly soaking up the blood on the pad of his finger. She meant to explain herself but she followed Damon's finger.

Elena watched as he placed his finger in his mouth and licked the blood off. Traces of his veins bubbled underneath his skin, but he didn't lose control. She was breathing heavily now as her heart pounded in her chest.

Damon backed her up to the counter and caged her in. There was no space between their bodies and Elena could feel just how much Damon wanted her. She was sure Damon could smell just how much she wanted him too, but did she really want him? No. She is in love with Stefan.

"Don't," she warned in a breathy voice.

He cocked his head to the side before smiling. Only one side of his lips went up as his hand reached out and tangled itself in her hair. His fingers were at the nap of her neck and the feeling tickled.

"I love Stefan," she whispered.

"You're heart is beating so fast," Damon murmured before reaching out and tucking his hand between their bodies. His fingers traveled over her breasts and rested on top of her heart. "You're breathing is erratic; as if you've just run a marathon." Damon dipped his head down so his mouth was near her ear. "You smell like cherries on a summer day."

"I love your brother." Elena hoped that her declaration came out strong, but a part of her hoped Damon would keep going.

Damon pulled back slightly and there was hurt shining behind his dark blue eyes, but he covered it up with his cockiness and arrogance. "Deep down you know you want me. And hey," Damon smirked, "I've waited a century and a half for one girl. I'll wait even longer for you." Elena stared into his blue eyes and knew that Damon meant every word.

There was no escaping him; although her body wouldn't even try if it had a choice.

"This is wrong," Elena nearly whimpered as Damon pressed a kiss right below her earlobe. The action nearly made her knees buckle.

"But it feels so right," Damon finished for her as Elena's hands reached up and tangled themselves in Damon's raven hair. She didn't know if she was trying to push him off or pull him closer.

"You're not my boyfriend."

The words slipped out like an ice bucket of cold water. Damon froze and Elena wished she could take back what she said. He wasn't whispering comforting words in her ear anymore; his fingers weren't gliding through her hair or touching her heart.

"You're lying to yourself, Elena. I was right the other night." Damon pulled away and Elena felt cold.

"Oh please," a voice purred, "Don't stop on my account."

It was like staring in a mirror. The only difference Elena could see was the hair. Katherine had hers in perfect ringlets while Elena chose to wear hers completely straight.

Damon moved and put himself between Elena and Katherine. He smiled by lifting one side of his mouth. It was more like a scowl.

Katherine was standing in the doorway of the kitchen in skin tight jeans, knee high black boots, and a shirt that cut low in the front. There was a cut on her side, dried blood caked her hands all the way up to her elbows, and when Elena looked closer she saw more blood on Katherine's boots.

"You don't look so well Katherine," Damon observed. "I see you've been making friends since coming back."

Katherine rolled her eyes and walked deliberately to the sink. "I've been around for a while Damon. I've made enemies and they're catching up to me." Damon backed away from the sink; moving Elena with him so she was still shielded behind him.

"Oh relax Damon," Katherine said while washing her hands. "If I wanted to kill Elena I would have already. I've had plenty of opportunities."

Elena swallowed and was even more relieved when Stefan rushed into the kitchen. He froze by Damon's and hers side.

Katherine turned around and dried off her hands. "Looks like the gang is all here. Shall we continue this talk in the parlor? I'm parched." She left the kitchen without an answer.

"What is she—" Elena started but Damon put his finger to her lips. He didn't touch her but he silenced her. He then pointed to his ear and Elena understood his message; Katherine was listening in.

"Come on," Stefan said while wrapping Elena up in his arms. "We shouldn't keep her waiting."

"So, should we do pleasantries or should I just cut to the chase?" Katherine asked once they were all in the parlor.

Damon walked over to the cart and poured himself two fingers of his favorite bourbon. Katherine was next to him, holding out her hand, and Damon scowled before giving her the tumbler. He poured himself another one.

"Let's just make this as painless as possible," Stefan said through gritted teeth. He was tense and Elena was relieved that she had him there to protect her if anything happened.

"Let's just say I'm here for _her_." Katherine pointed her slim finger towards Elena and she nearly gasped.

"Me? But I didn't do anything."

"You exist honey. That's more than enough reason to get you into trouble. In fact, you're lucky you're even still alive." Katherine spoke as if life and death didn't matter. In a way, she reminded Elena of how Damon used to be when he first came to Mystic Falls.

"What do you want Katherine?" Damon snarled.

"Surely you must see the resemblance between Elena and I by now. I mean," Katherine chuckled, "You're both in love with her because she looks like me. You three must be wondering how it's possible Elena and I are identical."

Elena felt a twinge of pain when Stefan didn't deny Katherine. They already had the conversation about Elena looking like Katherine. He had reassured her months ago when she found the photograph; however, Elena was starting to doubt him and his reasons.

"We're related. I'm technically her great times ten grandmother." Katherine seemed satisfied when they all looked confused. She sat down and smirked.

"But that would mean you had a kid before turning," Damon pointed out.

"Look," Katherine sighed. For a moment she looked uncomfortable when Damon pointed out her kid, but she shook it off and Elena decided to tuck that information into the back of her head. "I didn't come here to discuss my sins. I came here because Elena is in danger, she's the last of my family who's human, and I'm hoping I can remind Stefan of what we used to have."

"You're wasting your breath Katherine. I love Elena," Stefan finally spoke up.

Katherine looked between Damon and Elena as if she was going to reveal what she saw in the kitchen. Elena worried her bottom lip; praying to god that Katherine wouldn't tell Stefan. Never in Elena's life did she think she would be hoping Katherine was on her side.

"So," Katherine startled Elena out of her thoughts by speaking loudly to draw everyone back on track. "Klaus. He's after Elena and I can't have that."

"And why should we trust you? You cut off John's hand for god sakes," Damon pointed out.

"Who's Klaus?" Elena asked.

Katherine smirked in her direction. "He's the monster who I've been running from for five hundred years. He's the reason I have no family, no friends, and no safety. He wants the human doppelganger. Klaus is the meanest, strongest vampire around. He's an original."

"That's just a myth. There are no originals," Damon scoffed. "I'm calling bull shit."

"Wait, Damon," Stefan said while holding out his hand. Elena saw Stefan's mind rolling as he looked at Katherine thoughtfully. "Why is he after Elena?"

"He wants to break a curse by performing a ritual. He needs the human doppelganger." Katherine stood up and slid into her jacket.

"Why are you telling us this? Why are you helping me?" Elena asked.

"I'm tired of running. The sooner Klaus is taken care of then the sooner I can live my life. We'll be in touch." Katherine waved by wiggling her fingers and sending them one last smirk. Elena thought Damon's smirks were ridiculous, but Katherine's were even more annoying.

"Don't listen to her. There's no such thing as an original and we have no way of knowing that she's telling the truth," Damon said smoothly. He sat down on the couch next to Elena and bumped her shoulder playfully. "Cheer up buttercup."

"I think she's telling the truth," Stefan said thoughtfully. "And if she is then we need to do some research and talk to Katherine more."

"Then that's your job because I don't want to see that bitch anymore than I have to." Damon stood up and drained his drink. "Besides, she's into you anyways, little brother." Damon clapped him on the shoulder before leaving them alone in the parlor.

Elena looked down at the ground. Surprisingly, she wasn't that worried about the ritual. Damon was right, they didn't know if Katherine was telling the truth or if this was just another plan to try to get to Stefan. What really was bothering Elena was the dilemma of either telling Stefan that she and Damon had another dry humping session in the kitchen or to hide that from him also?

"I'm going to talk to her tomorrow," Stefan decided.

"Stefan, the last time you talked to her by yourself she staked you. Remember Mr. Lockwood's wake? If you upset her she might hurt you even more."

"She won't," Stefan said with determination. He sighed when he met her eyes. Elena knew there was no reasoning with him now. "Look, Elena, I am going to do whatever it takes to protect you. If that means subjecting myself to talking to Katherine then that's what I'll have to do. I'm not going to let anyone hurt you."

* * *

The next day Elena visited Caroline. It took convincing, but Elena managed to bring Bonnie with her. It took even longer for the girls to calm down. Talking hadn't started off so great when Caroline accused Bonnie and Elena of lying to her for the whole year. There was yelling, screaming, and then eventually they all hugged it out.

Elena caught Bonnie and Caroline up on the whole Katherine situation. She already had that talk with Jeremy and Alaric earlier in the morning when they were all in the kitchen and Jenna was in the shower. All Bonnie and Caroline could do was sit back and stare with sympathy.

"I'm sure Stefan won't let anything happen to you," Bonnie said. "He's just doing what's best," she said.

After their talk Elena had gone home to an empty house. Jeremy was at The Grill with Tyler; he left a note telling Elena, and Jenna had run to campus to turn in a paper. So when Elena walked up to her room she was startled when she saw Katherine going through her closet.

Elena thought she was quiet enough to back out of the room, however, Katherine was faster and so she used vampire speed to stop Elena. She harshly caught onto Elena's wrist and twisted slightly. She dragged her over to her bed and made her sit.

"Now that I have your attention," Katherine sneered and sat down on the bed too. "I think we need to have a little chat; woman to woman."

Elena raised her chin a fraction of an inch and cradled her wrist with her good hand. Fear coursed through her veins as she looked at her vampire self. This was the creature who seduced both Damon and Stefan. This was the vampire who turned two brothers against each other. She was the monster who led Damon on for a century and a half.

Katherine could do anything to Elena and she couldn't stop it.

"What do you want, Katherine?" Elena asked. She hoped she sounded normal although Elena knew Katherine could hear her racing heart.

"My sweet, sweet Elena," Katherine reached up and traced her sharp, manicured finger down Elena's face. "I think you already know what or rather _who_ I want. And it seems to me that you're into the other brother anyways. In fact, if what I saw yesterday was true, then you remind me of myself."

"No," Elena hissed. "I am not like you."

Katherine smiled victoriously. "I think I hit a nerve." She leaned in closer and showed her pearly white teeth. "It's just us girls. You can be honest with me. I won't tell. Do you have feelings for Damon?"

Elena wasn't going to answer that. If she couldn't even admit it to herself then she definitely wasn't going to admit it to Katherine. "Knock it off. What do you really want Katherine? I'm starting to think Damon is right; you're lying about Klaus just to get to Stefan."

Elena stood up. She meant to walk out of her room but before she could move Katherine had her hand around her throat and pinned against the wall. Elena choked and struggled for a minute before Katherine let her grip slip.

"If you think I'm lying about Klaus than you're even dumber than I thought," Katherine growled. There were veins on her cheeks and red in her eyes. "Now listen closely because I'm only going to say this once: Stefan is mine. I think you two could use a break. Maybe that will give you time to settle your feelings for Damon." Katherine backed up and smiled as if she didn't just have Elena against the wall. "He's fun in the sack; there's no denying that. Have a go with him and then maybe you'll finally realize you're not meant for Stefan."

Katherine left in a blur and that was when Elena let herself slide down the wall with tears brimming her eyes. She held her hurt wrist and pulled her knees to her chest. She reached for her phone and dialed Stefan's number. She waited while it rang and she prayed he would pick up. Elena had to talk to him; just to hear his soothing voice but he didn't answer.

Elena took that as a bad omen.

* * *

Hours later, Elena had finished all of her homework for the week, studied for her math test coming up, and even did a load of laundry and she still hadn't heard a word from Stefan. He had sent her one text that said:

_I'm sorry I missed your call. I'm with Kat now. Call when I'm done._

Elena huffed while she thought about the text and the nickname he used when talking about Katherine.

"Boy problems?" Jenna asked from the kitchen island. Alaric was cooking while Jenna stood by him with a glass of red wine. Jeremy was in the living room playing games while Elena was setting the table for dinner.

Elena gave Jenna a look. "Oh, Stefan problems," Jenna said with a sympathetic smile. "Want to talk about it?"

Jenna and Elena both looked at Alaric who looked around the room awkwardly. "I can leave if that helps?" He supplied.

"No," Elena said with a small smile. "That's okay, Ric. It's just the usual drama." Alaric knew what was going on however Jenna was still clueless about vampires.

The doorbell went off and for a moment Elena thought it was her phone.

"I'll get it," she mumbled while Jenna and Alaric were too wrapped up in their cute coupleness to even bother. Elena opened the door and was surprised when she saw Damon holding a container. "What are you doing here?"

"Hello to you too Miss Sunshine," he quipped.

Elena realized how rude she sounded and bit her lip. "Sorry. I'm just surprised is all. It's family night and well…"

"Ric invited me," Damon said before sauntering into the kitchen.

Elena followed and noticed that Jeremy was at the table ready to eat. He gave Damon a head nod before Damon went over to Jenna who looked less than thrilled to see him.

"Thanks for having me," he said with a smirk. "I hope you like German Chocolate Cake."

Jenna took the dessert and looked down at it. "I didn't really have a choice when Ric told me you were coming over." Elena looked at Alaric who was studying the food very closely. "And yes, that happens to be my favorite dessert so I hope you didn't mess it up."

Everyone sat down for dinner and the tension was thick.

Alaric was at the head of the table, Jenna was on one side of him while Damon was on the other. Jeremy sat down by Jenna which left the only open spot next to Damon.

"You know what?" Jenna spoke a little too loudly to cut the tension. "I'm just going to come out and say this; Elena can make her own decisions. I've dated plenty of bad guys and I learned from my mistakes. She has to learn too."

"But we're not dat—" Elena tried to protest.

"Truths?" Damon asked with a smirk and his eyes flared a little. Elena knew that look. That was Damon's look that could basically turn any girl into a pile of mush. It even worked on Jenna for a bit.

"Uh," she cleared her throat. "Yeah. Truths." Jenna was blushing and Alaric rolled his eyes playfully.

"Dick," he muttered to Damon.

Everything seemed to be going normal, they all made small talk while Jeremy spoke about his day with Tyler, Alaric complained about grading papers, and Jenna declared she was going to be done with school officially that upcoming May.

So when they were just about done eating the steak Alaric prepared with potatoes Elena nearly jumped out of her seat when she felt Damon's leg nudge her own bare leg. She looked at him but he was still talking to Jenna as if he never even touched her.

Elena thought it was a mistake and so she shook it off and continued to listen, however, when Damon did it again and this time his hand was on her upper thigh Elena jumped up.

"I'll go get the cake," she announced. After collecting everyone's plates she saw Damon's smirk and crystal blue eyes. She refused to look lower at his mouth in fear that she would stare to long in front of everyone.

It all happened so quickly. One minute Elena was getting the serving knife and the next Damon was on the floor with a stake through his chest. Jenna screamed while all three humans jumped away from the table and broken glass that used to be their back door.

Damon pushed himself up from the ground but he didn't make it far because four men broke through their doors in the kitchen. The first one injected Damon with something to make him unconscious.

"Vervain really does work," the guy said in a gruff voice.

Elena wasn't expecting someone to come up behind her. She struggled as they bear hugged her and held her down.

"Elena!" Jenna yelled but she wasn't too sure because she was becoming drowsy.

She couldn't move as a cloth was put over her mouth. She tried screaming, but as she looked around the kitchen in terror she realized Jeremy was already on the ground and she cried. Don't let him be dead. Through a haze Elena looked as Jenna was slowly losing consciousness too. She had a cloth over her mouth and nose just like Elena. Alaric had a cut above his eye and was bleeding. He was yelling something but Elena couldn't hear.

They were outnumbered and she was feeling very tired.

"That's it, just close your eyes for me," the man behind her whispered.

The side of his face was rough against hers and Elena didn't want to listen but she had no choice. Her limbs were heavy and sleeping sounded like a good idea.

The last thing Elena saw was her family on the ground and the stake being stabbed into Damon over and over again.

* * *

**Is this Klaus? Klaus' minions? Humans? What do you think?**


	4. Stripped Naked

**Author's Note-So one person guessed correctly about who took Elena. I'm glad that people did guess. They were all great answers. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. It was hard for me to write, so I hope you guys like it. Let me know what you think.**

* * *

It had taken thirty minutes for Damon to wake up. He had at least twenty holes in his shirt to the point where it just hung off his body in a bloody mess. Another fifteen for Stefan and Katherine to get to the Gilbert house with blood bags. Seventeen minutes to calm Jenna down and to start explaining about the supernatural world. And another ten minutes to get Bonnie and Caroline caught up on the kidnapping situation.

Jenna was pacing the living room and biting her fingernails. "We should call the police."

"No," Damon stressed. "We shouldn't." Damon narrowed his eyes and tossed his third blood bag to the side. He looked at Alaric pointedly and then nodded his head towards a distraught Jenna.

Alaric stood in front of Jenna and placed his hands on her shoulders. "We can't, Jenna. If this is a supernatural thing then we can't get Forbes involved. Then the council will find out and we can't just have that mess. And if it's not supernatural then Damon and Stefan are the two best people to get Elena back."

"Supernatural! Council!" Jenna threw her hands up. "I don't give a damn about any of this! I wasn't to find Elena!"

Damon stood up and walked past Caroline, Bonnie, and Jeremy who were going through Bonnie's grimoire. "Find something," Damon warned gravely. He continued to walk through the doorway and outside to the porch.

He looked out from the front of the house and saw everyone's cars parked outside. Anyone inside would gladly give up their lives for Elena and sadly, Damon was sure that Elena would give up her life if it meant saving one of her friends.

"There was nothing you could have done," Stefan said from behind Damon.

When Damon turned he saw his brother leaning against the house with his arms crossed. He had his eyes narrowed, but Damon wasn't threatened.

"If you came out here to lecture me about being here then save it. I'm not in the mood to fight you too." Damon turned around and Stefan's words still nagged at him. He turned back around with anger and a raised voice. "And it was my fault Stefan! I was there, in the kitchen. I was shot with vervain and then staked…repeatedly. I watched her fall unconscious. I watched them carry her out of her own home when I could have done something."

Damon and Stefan stared at one another and the older vampire sucked in a breath at Stefan's next observation.

"You're in love with her…and she feels something for you too."

"Don't waste your breath on being jealous. One, it doesn't look good on you, brother. And two, she is still in love with you. Believe me, I know." Damon turned around because looking at the Gilbert house was just another reminder of how he failed Elena.

"Excuse me," A dark skinned women appeared in front of the Salvatore brothers. She was carrying a big bag and was wearing a big sun hat to shield her face. "Is Bonnie Bennett and Katherine Pierce here?"

"Lucy!" Katherine greeted with a sickly sweet smile. Bonnie was standing in the doorway as Katherine invited Lucy inside. "How nice of you to help."

"I owe you Katherine. Once my duty is done then I am set free." Lucy spoke in a very calm manner. When they passed Bonnie they froze with their eyes connected.

"Do I know you?" Bonnie asked with wonder.

Lucy smiled kindly. "I have Bennett blood running through my veins; just like you."

"You're a witch," Bonnie stated.

"Yes," Lucy patted her shoulder and an electric current shot through their bodies. "I am. And I'm here to help."

* * *

Elena didn't know how long they had been in the car. She had been shoved inside a van, and once she started even regaining consciousness, the cloth was put back over her nose and mouth. She soon started resisting and her kidnapper would just keep holding the cloth over her mouth until she was forced to breathe. That happened at least three times before she woke up in a chair with her hands bound behind her back and to the chair.

"Looks like Sleeping Beauty is finally waking up," a gruff voice said.

Elena felt someone grip her chin and forced her to look up and into their eyes. All she saw was anger and coldness before her eyes drooped shut again. Her senses were slowly coming back to her and she quickly blinked as this man's grip tightened.

"Stay awake," he demanded. "I'm tired of waiting."

"Please," Elena whimpered. "You're hurting me."

"That's enough!" A dark voice commanded from the corner of the room. Elena wanted to turn around and see who said that, but she couldn't. It took a second before her chin was released and she was left wanting to rub the pain away, but her hands were bound tight. "Brady, go check on Stevie. He was injured by the history teacher."

Elena watched as Brady, a six foot tall man with a strong build looked straight ahead with a heavy sigh and hard look before finally backing out of the room and winking towards her. "This isn't over princess."

Elena shuttered. Now she was left with a man who had authority over Brady and so she could only imagine just how strong and creepy he could be.

One, two, three footsteps were all he took before another man was in front of her. He was dressed in all black. His eyes were a steal color, brown, wavy hair as if he was a surfer, and Elena narrowed her eyes as she saw the small tattoo on his forearm. That was the image she remembered before everything went black.

He was the one who drugged her.

"Sorry about him," the mystery man motioned behind him and winced sympathetically. "He has quite a temper. I'm Mason. Mason Lock—"

"Lockwood," Elena gasped. She hadn't recognized him right away, but now it was all coming back to her. He hadn't showed up at his brother's funeral; he was probably too busy planning her kidnapping.

Mason smiled kindly, but Elena didn't feel his warmth. She wanted to go home.

"I'm glad that you remember." He crouched down to her height and slowly reached out to push back a strand of hair. Elena tried to strain away, but he still lightly touched her cheek like an old lover. "We're going to play a game, Elena. I just need you to help me and my friends out and then we'll go from there."

Elena locked eyes with Mason. Terror was coursing through her veins but she found herself nodding along with Mason as if in a trance. Maybe, just maybe, if she stalled long enough then someone would come and save her; Damon and Stefan always saved her.

Mason clapped his hands together with a smirk. "Perfect. It's gonna get a little bright in here, sweetheart." He kept using pet names as if that would calm her down. Mason stood up and flicked on the light. Elena hadn't even realized that the only light before came from a small window behind her.

She blinked as her eyes adjusted and she was surprised to see that she was in a bathroom. It was small, making her think that this wasn't in someone's house. Her chair was in the center of the room and in front of her was a bathtub filled with water. She didn't want to think about why there was a filled tub.

Mason must have sensed her panic because he was right by her again and his large hands touched her shoulders. She tensed under the intrusion. Mason was trying to play the good guy. Elena saw it all the time in movies or tv shows. One person would be the 'bad guy' while another person became the 'good guy' to earn the trust. Elena didn't want to give Mason her trust. He had to earn it and so far, by kidnapping her, he was doing a horrible job.

"I just have a few questions and if you answer correctly, then everything will be okay."

"Mason!" A woman's voice rang out. The door was practically slammed open and Elena jumped.

"I'm busy, Jules," Mason gritted out.

The blonde woman, Jules, stood in the doorway and looked Elena over. "I was just making sure everything was going okay. Brady seems to think this plan won't work and we might have to take…_other_…methods in order to get what we want."

Jules eyes were cold and calculating as she stared Elena down. Elena thought maybe Jules would understand. She was a woman who might share a connection with Elena, but she saw no sympathy from her. Mason was starting to seem like the only nice person around here.

Mason crossed his arms and stared Jules down. "I got it," he hissed. "Now stay out."

Jules looked hurt for a second by Mason's harsh treatment but retreated nonetheless.

There was no kindness in the room anymore.

* * *

Damon, along with everyone else in the room, watched as Bonnie and Lucy cut a dash into Jeremy Gilbert's hand. Damon crossed his arm as Bonnie and Lucy chanted together, the blood dripping down on a map of Virginia. It wasn't long before the blood kept moving

It had taken all but ten seconds for the blood to settle.

"Cedarburg," Jeremy read aloud. "That's only two hours away. It's a small town."

"Okay, so where exactly in Cedarburg witches?" Damon snapped.

"I don't know," Bonnie said defeated. "We don't even know who took her yet. Was it Klaus for this supposed curse? Or was it someone else?"

"Supposed curse?' Katherine barked with laughter. "Oh honey, there is no question about it. There is a curse and Elena is the key to breaking it. But no," she conceded. "I don't think this is Klaus. Damon said the attackers were surprised the vervain worked. I would say humans."

"Humans?" Damon's eyes flared with disbelief. "I wouldn't get ambushed by a human. Don't think so low of me."

"They felt stronger than humans," Alaric agreed. The cut above his head was proof that he fought with all his strength.

"I think I have a way now that we know what town she's in, but it will require more blood…a lot more and from more than one person," Lucy said gravely. "I need more people who share Elena's blood."

Everyone looked around and then Jenna stepped forward. "You can use mine."

"Actually," Stefan quietly said, "she can't. Elena and you don't exactly have the same blood."

"You can use as much of mine as you need," Jeremy put out his two hands. The one palm was still slowly bleeding.

"That won't be enough," the older witch warned.

"She can use mine," a voice spoke up from the door. Damon looked over and heard Jenna gasp at the same time. John Gilbert entered the living room with his damaged hand still wrapped up. "I'm her father. We have the same blood."

"Her father?" Jenna questioned. "I thought…I knew…I shouldn't be surprised anymore by any of this."

"Anyone else have the same blood as Elena?" Lucy asked.

John and Jeremy stood by Bonnie. Damon was surprised and weary when Katherine completed the circle of humans and witches. "I'm a Petrova and so is she. I'll help if it means ending this day as soon as possible."

* * *

Mason had been called away and Brady had taken his place. Elena was petrified as he started circling her. He had barely spoken a word but his eyes spoke volumes. He wasn't beyond hurting her. He would do it if it meant getting what he wanted. They had been playing the starting game for twenty minutes now and one of them was bound to break.

Elena broke first.

"What do you guys want with me?" She hoped she sounded brave, but deep down she knew her voice was more like a quivering mess.

Brady was leaning against the counter with his arms crossed. "You're connected to something we want. I'm surprised Mason hasn't told you yet. He spilled his guts out to the other one within one minute of meeting her."

Other one? Elena shut her eyes and thought hard about what Brady was saying.

"I guess I can tell you," Brady husked before rolling his eyes. "It's pathetic really. All we needed was the moonstone and the human doppelganger. We had the moonstone." Brady was seething now.

"Mason had it and then when he met that bitch of a vampire, Katherine, he was instantly smitten by her. She looks exactly like you for god's sake! And then instantly, she was gone and so was the moonstone. She stole it from us."

"Katherine Pierce?" Elena murmured more to herself, but Brady seemed to hear her.

"Yes," he snapped. "Katherine fucking Pierce. Mason knew you so we didn't have to worry about getting to you. The only obstacle was getting around those Salvatore brothers, which Katherine warned us about. And now that we have you, we can complete phase one and then phase two we will need the moonstone for." Brady barred his teeth and they seemed to glow white. "And lucky for you, it's a full moon tomorrow so all of this will be over for you soon."

"You're going to kill me," she whispered. "That's phase one, right?" Brady nodded his head. "But why?' She cried. "I didn't do anything."

"It's all to break our curse." Brady walked forward and gripped her hair roughly. "And I have a feeling you know where the moonstone is." He pushed her head forward, so she was slightly leaning against the tub. She could see her reflection in the water and gulped. Brady was hunched over her back and holding her so their eyes connected in the water. "Where is it?"

"I don't know what it is," she said automatically, fearing what would come next. In that moment she wished Mason was in the room with her and not Brady.

"Your life is connected to it. You have to know where it is. Where is it?" He asked again.

"I don't know," Elena whispered. "I didn't even know about it until today."

"I'm going to ask one more time, Elena. My patience is running thin. Where is it?" Brady lowered her closer to the water.

"I don't know," she hissed.

Brady submerged her head under water and held her there until he felt her heart slow to almost a complete stop.

* * *

The second spell had only taken ten minutes of chanting, a lot of blood pooling together in a bowl, and a bloody nose from Bonnie. It was becoming apparent that using too much magic at once was taking a toll on her body. But if Damon had it his way then Bonnie would continue using spells until they got Elena back.

His eyes focused on the wall behind Bonnie and Lucy. It was like a screen or a movie projector had been set up. The images that were moving started out blurry to the point where Damon couldn't tell what he was seeing. But the more he watched the clearer the images became and the angrier Damon became.

"Is that," Caroline hesitated as sounds of water and gurgling echoed throughout the living room, "Elena?"

"We can actually see her," Jeremy said in awe.

Damon grinded his teeth together as reality set in.

"_I don't know_," Elena hissed and it was as if Elena was in the living room with them all.

Damon clutched the armrest by his side as Elena was submerged under water. "Oh my," Jenna murmured. Damon's hand clenched the longer Elena was in water. How was this supposed to help them? All they could do was watch Elena being tortured.

"Bonnie you have to stop this!" Caroline exclaimed.

"How is this helping us, Bonnie?" Stefan asked in a kinder voice. Damon didn't understand how Stefan could be that calm, show no sign of anger, and keep his veins hidden while trying to keep in control. Damon usually had more control; however, his anger was pushing his veins to the surface of his face.

"We can watch and see her surroundings. Maybe something will tip us off where she is. A hotel? Motel? A house or apartment maybe?" Lucy stepped in for Bonnie who seemed to have her eyes glued to the screen and her best friend.

"I'll give it five minutes before I'm leaving for Elena," Damon gritted out. Jenna was eyeing him wearily, but Damon didn't take the time to understand what that look meant. Instead, his only focus was Elena who was struggling desperately.

* * *

When Elena could finally breathe again she was shaking. The water was ice cold, her face and hair were dripping down her back and chest, and the fear of drowning was taking over. This brought back memories of drowning with her parents and their deaths.

Brady frowned sympathetically, but Elena knew it was fake. He pushed some of her wet hair off of her face.

"Where is the moonstone?" He stood up and circled around her.

Elena took a steadying breath before answering. "I don't know." Before he could ask her again she cut in. "Do you really think I am lying to you? You think I like spending my time here with you? I don't know where it is. I don't even know what it looks like."

"You do have a point," Brady finally said. "So then tell me this. You look exactly like Katherine Pierce. Where is she?"

"Why…why would I know?" Elena stuttered. Brady was getting closer to her chair.

"You two are basically twins. How could you not know where she is?" Brady gripped her chair. "And if you don't know where then the Salvatore brothers might. I'll let you use the phone and then you can ask them…that is if Damon is still alive right now."

Elena sucked in a breath as flashes of Damon being staked multiple times ran through her mind. She didn't remember seeing any stake go through his heart or his body turning gray with death, but she fell unconscious so anything could have happened.

"Is my family okay?" Elena whispered.

Brady smirked. "The humans are fine….the vampire…maybe not so much. Vervain and stakes go a long way."

Elena shut her eyes as she pictured Damon dying in her own kitchen. This was her fault. If he really was dead then she would never forgive herself. And if he was gone then that means she never would get the chance to see if she really did have genuine feelings for him. That was mean and cruel to live with knowing that she could have had something with Damon but it was her fault he was dead. He died for her.

Tears ran down her cheeks when Brady gripped her chin and forced her to look up at him. One second Elena saw tears clouding her vision and the next, when her eyes landed on Brady's unforgiving set, she saw red and spat on his face.

If Damon was dead then there was no reason to keep playing Brady's game. She wouldn't give up her friends or her family and right now Elena knew that Katherine fell into the friends category. She was trying to help and so Elena would protect her the best way possible.

"I don't know where Katherine is and I am not calling Stefan to find out. You can go to hell."

"You bitch," Brady roared before dunking her under the water again. This time, Elena knew she wouldn't come out alive.

* * *

"I found something," Jeremy yelled. Damon had noticed him tinkering around on his laptop instead of watching his sister. Damon would have given anything to have a distraction instead of watching Elena give up her life to save all of them. But Damon had to keep watching. He was looking for anything in the bathroom to give them a clue as to her where she was being held.

"There's three motels in that town. Two of them have that painting that's behind Elena in their bathrooms. See?" Jeremy held up his laptop and showed it around the room. "When the motels posted pictures, they posted pictures of their bathrooms and that sailboat picture is in both."

"We'll split up," Alaric said.

"No," Damon argued. "Anyone who's human is not going. We still don't know exactly what they are; only that they're stronger than humans and that they're supernatural somehow. It's not safe."

"She's my sister. I found her location. You can't stop me," Jeremy demanded.

"We need people to stay back and watch Elena. If they move locations we need eyes watching her and telling us where she is headed," Stefan reasoned.

"Jenna, Ric, and Jeremy can do that," Damon agreed.

"Guys," Caroline pointed out in a quiver. She pointed to the screen and Elena had just spat on Brady's face.

"What is she doing?" Bonnie asked as Elena was dunked again.

"She thinks Damon's dead," Katherine smirked. "The girl has spunk."

"The girl's name is Elena," Caroline snapped. "And she doesn't have spunk right now. She's giving up. She's not even struggling anymore. Look."

"We don't have time to watch." Damon snapped. "Katherine and Blondie, you go with Stefan to one motel while witchy and I go to the other. Got it? Good."

"What do you want me to do?" John asked.

Damon glared. "Why don't you stay here and learn how to be a father."

Damon walked out without another word. He was going to get Elena back and nothing was going to stop him.

* * *

Elena was ripped out of the water by some force. She was sure it wasn't Brady because he was willing to kill her. Either way, she was going to die.

"What are you doing?" She heard Mason yell.

She whipped her hair back and squirmed in her seat. If she craned her neck around then she could see Mason and Brady holding each other by the necks. Each one was trying to overpower the other.

"She has to die! She doesn't know anything." Brady managed to get out of Mason's grip and shove him across the small bathroom. They were both breathing just as raggedy as she was. "She's going to die anyways; might as well let her die today before we lose her too!"

"No!" Mason yelled out. Brady and Mason were attacking one another again and Elena was caught in the cross fire. She saw their eyes turn yellow and she gasped. This was more incentive to try to untie her wrists, but she could hardly move them. However, she kept trying to untangle herself. "She's not dying today! That was never the plan!"

Brady hit Mason with his elbow and there was a crack of bones. "The only thing she's good for is dying. We need her death for the curse!" Brady was holding Mason against the wall. "Do you really want to keep changing every full moon? We need her death to free ourselves or else the vampires will use her. Why do you think the Salvatores keep her around?! She's either going to die for us or for them."

Elena's head was spinning. Katherine had said the curse was for Klaus. He wanted to lift the curse for himself. So why did Mason and these people want her? What curse could possibly be put on them?

Mason knocked Brady away, but as he did so Brady fell into Elena; making her fall with a crash. Her head his the side of the counter and a gash was imprinted on the side of her head. She could already feel the blood running down the side of her face.

Brady hopped up and before Elena could warn Mason, Brady pulled a gun out from behind his pants. He put one bullet into Mason's shoulder before knocking him unconscious. Elena screamed when blood splattered all over her face. At this point, Elena didn't know who's blood was on her face.

"What are you?" Elena whimpered. Brady bent down and ripped off the ropes. There were tiny cuts and black bruises on her skin. He held the gun to her temple.

"I'm a werewolf who is cursed to change every full moon!" He shook the gun against her temple even harder. "You are going to change that. Once we get the moonstone then our witch can perform a spell using your blood. I won't ever have to change again."

"Brady!" The blonde woman rushed into the room. "Maria said we're being tracked. We have to move now!" She looked around the bathroom and sighed when she saw Mason's body on the ground. "He was never going to kill her, was he?"

"No," Brady said. He turned towards Elena. "This is going to hurt you more than me." And it did hurt when Brady used the back of his gun to slam it against the side of her head.

Everything went black again.

* * *

"They moved places, Damon." Alaric was talking to him through the phone. "You and Bonnie were going to the right place, but they have a witch too. Jules said that their best option was going through the woods. They're trying to track the moonstone which they believe Katherine has. So ideally, they're just going to loop back and end up in Mystic falls."

"One," Damon drummed against the steering wheel, "who the fuck is Jules? Two, thanks for reminding me that we have more Katherine issues to deal with. And three, we need to figure out what this curse is. Katherine says one thing while these pricks believe Elena is going to help them with their curse. Whatever that is," Damon scoffed.

"Actually," Alaric hesitated. "I think we know what they are."

"Well don't leave a vampire hanging Ric. What are they?"

"They're werewolves."

"Thanks for adding to my list of problems."

"Turn here," Bonnie instructed.

Damon looked at her and the dirt path. There was no road, but he did as Bonnie said. He saw the blood moving on the map; which meant Elena was on the move. They were taking her out of town and towards them through the woods.

Damon hung up on Alaric and parked the car. He got out and Bonnie followed suit.

"What are you doing?" She yelled. "We have to keep moving."

Damon took a deep breath and shut his eyes. He was using all of his vampire abilities to track Elena. "I can smell her blood. They're close. Stay here," he demanded before speeding off into the woods.

"Damon!" Bonnie yelled in exasperation. Once she realized Damon wasn't coming back she quickly dialed Stefan's number to fill him in one what was happening.

* * *

Elena didn't stay unconscious for long. When she had woken up with a major headache, blood caked down the side of her face, and the gash on her head still oozing slowly she was soon blindfolded. She only saw for a second that they were in a wooded area. Her hands were bound in front of her now with an even tighter rope and a person who she hadn't seen before was pulling her along like a dog on a leash.

She stumbled, tripping over a rock that she couldn't see.

"Stevie," the woman called out, "Keep up!"

"Sorry Jules," the man pulling her snapped. "But this human is dragging me down."

"So we use her as bait for Stefan. He gets a hold of Katherine. And then we get the moonstone," Jules spoke aloud.

Elena tripped again and this time she fell. She used her tied wrists to brace her fall and she felt a sharp rock cut her palm. She cried out as her body gave out and she refused to move or get up. She felt a sharp tug on the rope but she pulled back with little strength.

"Get up or else we'll kill you right now," Brady hissed before putting the gun to her head again.

"You won't," Elena gasped when there was another pull on the rope, but she refused to get up. "You need me."

Brady dug the gun further against her head, but then all of a sudden Elena was knocked to the ground. She wasn't expecting Brady to let go of her and so she fell to the ground with a cry. When she started tugging on her ropes she realized there was a lot of slack. Was it possible Stevie wasn't holding the rope anymore? What was happening?

There were screams around her, and she heard some rustling as if there was wind, but Elena didn't care. She started twisting her hands and wrists any way possible to loosen the rope. After struggling for what seemed like hours when in fact it was only minutes, Elena stopped moving. There was no sound except for her crying and heavy breathing.

When she felt someone touch her shoulders to pull her into a sitting position she lashed out finally. Her tied hands beat on her intruder's chest and her feet kicked out as much as possible.

"It's me," a man's voice soothed.

Elena felt their hands go to the tie around her eyes and she screamed while trying to scratch the person who was near her.

"Elena!" His voice sounded familiar. "You're safe! It's me, Damon!" He took the bandana from her eyes and for the first time that day she saw his bright blue orbs. Her eyes blinked rapidly as she looked around in jerky movements.

They were on the ground in the woods. All three captors were lying on the ground and it looked as if their hearts had been ripped out. Damon had blood on his hands, all the way up to his elbows.

His hands were running over her face softly, tracing her eyes, cheekbones, and running down to her lips. Elena didn't know when he did it, but the ropes slipped off her wrists and she wasted no time in hugging him; pulling him closer.

"You're not dead," she chanted over and over as if it were some miracle. "I thought you were…they said that…you're here."

Damon leaned his forehead down onto her own. His hands were running over her face and arms so delicately. He was being covered in her blood, his pale face having specks of red to match her own, but he didn't seem to care.

"It's okay now," Damon said. "You're okay now."

Elena clung to Damon with her life. He was alive and so was she.

He was grasping onto her just as desperately.

* * *

**What did you guys think? Were you surprised that it was werewolves? Thanks for all the support!**


	5. Kiss Me

**Author's Note-So two updates in a week?! What?! You guys are amazing and your reviews, likes, and follows keep me writing. I hope this chapter is okay. It's kind of a filler but necessary to start things up. I hope I have Delena fans reading because this is a favorite of mine.**

* * *

It was chaotic when Elena had been returned home. Everyone, her friends, family, and Stefan had been fawning all over her. Even Alaric, who was usually awkward whenever girl talk happened, was offering Elena soup. He didn't really know what to do and so Elena finally accepted his offer; knowing he just wanted something to do with his hands and feel useful.

In fact, everyone wanted to feel useful and help her in some way. It was overwhelming for Elena; especially since she was in a lot of pain. She had a bruise on her temple from the gun being shoved against her, a huge gash that had dried blood coating the whole side of her face, her wrists had cuts, rope burns, and bruises aligning them, and she was covered in dirt, her own blood, and Mason's blood.

"I'm fine," she whispered hoarsely.

"We saw what happened!" Caroline rushed out as she shoved a glass of water towards Elena. Elena was sitting on the couch with everyone peering down at her. The only person she didn't see was Damon. He had disappeared the moment she stepped foot inside, or maybe he was just shoved to the side by everyone else. "You should have seen the spell Bonnie did. It was as if we were with you."

"Except we weren't," Bonnie said with further explanation. "But we saw you get dunked under water and everyone was scared for you. Do you want anything to eat?" She rushed out.

"Yah," Jeremy chimed in. "You love to eat. You must be starving. I can order pizza."

"Here you go," Jenna said while handing her a damp wash cloth. "Do you want my help or…" she trailed off; never being the best at playing the motherly role.

"I'll help," John offered. Elena looked at him with wide eyes and then she looked at everyone who was waiting for her response. Katherine was even off to the side, but Damon was no where among her friends. "Or not."

"What do you want, Elena?" Stefan asked softly. "You must be hurt or scared. We can take care of you."

Elena blinked. Everyone looked worried and she hated that she put tears in Jenna's eyes and even Jeremy looked like he had been crying with how puffy and red his eyes were too.

"You must be in shock. Here, you go kid." Alaric passed her the bowl of soup and she stared down at it. She then looked up at everyone else and they were all looking at her expectantly. She knew she had to say something or else they all might combust with confusion and sadness. They all needed something to do in order to take their minds off of the events that happened. They wanted to feel needed.

"I think," Elena said softly. She stood up with the hot bowl of soup in her hand. "I'm just going to go upstairs and go to bed. I'm pretty tired."

"Are you sure you don't need anything?" Caroline asked. "We just want to help."

Her blonde friend and everyone else in the room needed something to do. And so Elena mentally sighed. She just wanted to shower and go to sleep; forget about the past twenty-four hours.

"Actually," Elena finally said. "We need research on the werewolves." She turned to Alaric. "Can you and anybody else go to Isobel's research on campus and see if she has any information on Klaus, werewolves, and the curse. The werewolves believed in one curse while Katherine is telling us something different."

"And then we need to find out if Tyler is related to any of this. He's a Lockwood too. Caroline," Elena turned to her friend. "Can you handle that?"

"Yes, I will be on Mission Lockwood."

"We need the moonstone," Stefan spoke up. They all turned to Katherine who was looking down at her nails and smirking.

"Don't look at me. I don't have it on me. In fact, it's not even in Mystic Falls." Katherine looked up with a gleam in her eye. She looked like a cunning cat. "But I can get it…if Stefan goes with."

Elena nodded at Stefan who looked like he was going to decline.

"Okay now," Elena said softly. "I'm going to bed." She started walking away, just hoping that everyone would leave her alone. She could only be strong for so long, and although her friends wanted to make her feel better, she ended up making them feel needed and wanted because that's all they required.

When Elena walked up to her room the last person she expected to be sitting on the edge of her bed was Damon Salvatore. He was on the edge, his feet firmly planted on the ground, and his arms resting on his legs. His head was in his hands and his fingers were in his hair; making it stick up as if he had been running his digits through the strands all evening. He looked a mess; he even still had the blood splatters on his face and clothing.

"Damon?" Elena questioned when he didn't look up from the ground. She gently closed her door and looked around to make sure that nothing was out of place or someone wasn't lurking around. "Damon?" She whispered again.

He looked up at her and he had red blood shot eyes. Damon's shoulders sagged and for the first time since meeting him he looked exhausted.

Since being brought home Elena gave a small smile. Not even when her friends and family were pestering her did she smile, but seeing Damon just as distraught as her, made her gently smile.

"I'm fine," she murmured. "It's over now."

"I should have killed them earlier. If I had been stronger, faster, better than I would have saved you." He stood up and Elena had to look up into his eyes in order to see him. "I should have protected you but instead I was weak and I let you down."

His words affected her more than she could say. The way the tears pooled in his blue eyes made her want to cry with him. He was so sad and dejected that Elena did the only thing she could think of. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close.

"It's not your fault," she mumbled into his chest. "It's not your fault."

She winced when Damon shifted and his shoulder rubbed against her open gash. He pulled away immediately. "I'm okay," she insisted.

"That's all you've been saying tonight," he observed. "Let me help you with this. I can make you forget you know. I can heal and help you forget."

"How?" Elena asked before she realized what he was offering. "I don't want to forget. I have to remember exactly what happened."

"I can heal you then," he persisted. "You won't have to feel the pain. No bruises," he slowly reached out and pushed her hair off her forehead to reveal the bruised side of her face. It was an ugly black color; leading into her eye. "No blood or cuts." He slowly, without breaking eye contact raised her wrists to his mouth and planted a delicate kiss to her burned hands. "Let me heal you; make things right."

"Maybe," Elena husked out as he lowered her hands down again. "I have to think about it." Before Damon could convince her she stepped back. "I'm going to shower. You should too. I think you have some of my blood on your face."

Before she could shut the bathroom door Damon stopped her.

"Elena?"

"Yeah, Damon?"

"How are you really feeling?" He looked at her as if her answer might break him.

So she raised her chin a little and plastered on a fake smile. She couldn't let him fall into her oblivion. She had to spare his feelings just like her friends and family. "I'm fine."

Elena was ready to break and fall apart, but she couldn't do it in front of Damon.

"I'm really fine Damon."

* * *

Damon waited ten minutes after hearing the water turn on. He knew that he should go back to the boarding house and clean up. He had her blood on him and his elbows were caked in it from killing the werewolves. But it was worth it. He was still angry at himself for not finding Mason and killing him too. However, there was no time with the state that Elena was in. She had to be brought home and so that's what he did.

Just as he was about to hop out of her window he heard a whimper. He froze in his spot and listened closely. He knew that spying on her while in the shower was wrong, but after the day that they had, Damon wasn't against doing anything that invaded personal space. He had to make sure that Elena was okay. He already let her down once, and he wasn't going to do it again.

He heard a cry again as he stepped closer to the bathroom door. A suck of a breath in and then the waterworks began. He listened painfully to her cries and sobs as they mixed in with the shower. He leaned his head against the door and shut his eyes.

Where was Stefan? Shouldn't he be consoling his girlfriend right now? Damon was never good with crying women, and he especially didn't know what to do with Elena since she always seemed put together and head strong.

Her sobs continued as he tried to open the door, but it was locked. He counted to three in his head before twisting the knob and breaking the handle. He walked in and squinted through the steam. He could see her outline in the shower. Elena was sitting on the ground with her knees drawn to her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs.

"Elena?" Damon called out.

"I'm fine," she sniffled out.

Damon didn't say anything as a whimper escaped her mouth. She obviously wasn't fine anymore. He did the only thing he could think of and stripped down to his birthday suit. He pulled back the curtain and Elena didn't even both to turn around and look at him. Somehow, he knew that she expected him to come in.

"You're not fine, Ace," Damon soothed as he crouched down behind her. His eyes racked over her body for any more injuries but he could hardly see. She had everything covered as her head was bowed against her knees. Damon reached forward and around her body to switch the shower settings. He turned off the shower head and started filling the bath.

If Elena was upset with him then she wasn't saying anything.

"Ace?" She whispered.

"Yup," Damon smiled as she looked back at him from the corner of her eye. Her hair was shielding her face but Damon could still see the blackness of her bruise. Every time he saw the black and purple color his gums ached. He wanted to kill all the werewolves again for ever laying a finger on Elena.

"You're my Ace; the strongest person I know." He took the washcloth hanging on the bar and lathered it with soap. "Look at me Elena," he instructed tenderly. He wasn't used to using such a gentle voice. He was a monster; the reason why Elena was taken and she was still letting him touch her. She was an angel.

Elena took a second but Damon smiled when her eyes connected with his. Her knees weren't pulled up to her chest in a vice like grip anymore and so a small portion of her chest was in view.

"Let's get you cleaned up." Damon waited for Elena to resist. He waited for her fire to start up again and for her to start arguing with him. But she didn't deny him. Instead, she nodded her head silently and urged him to go on.

Damon started to get the blood off of her face, wincing every time Elena flinched away from the pain. Working around her bruises was hard, but he tried his best to delicately touch her. After working on her face he soothed the warm wash cloth down her shoulders, arms, and chest. She didn't' stop him as he stroked her breasts with the hot water.

"Look forward for me," he directed. Damon situated her in between his legs as his thighs cradled her towards him. He ran his fingers down her back, tenderly touching her skin and massaging her worries away. "You're going to be okay. I won't let anything else happen to you. Not Klaus, not werewolves, or anyone else."

"Brady said that I could stop the werewolf curse, but he also said that if they didn't kill me then you guys would. I think that means I could be the key to the vampire curse," Elena explained.

"If there's a vampire curse then I've never heard of that," Damon said easily. He was surprised when Elena leaned back into his chest and he took a chance and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"I think I know what it means. I'm not certain and hopefully Ric can find out information in Isobel's research, but if I'm sacrificed for vampires then that means the sun won't be a curse anymore." Elena fiddled with her hands in the water but Damon reached around to settle her.

"We don't know that," Damon insisted. "All we know right now is that there is some curse, a rock that Katherine and Stefan will retrieve, and no matter what, you will not be sacrificed for _anyone_."

There was a moment of silence and even though Elena's hair was tickling his shoulder and chin, her bare back was pressed against his naked chest like lovers, and Damon knew that this was a defining moment for them; reality was bound to catch up to them.

"Elena," Damon started but she held up her hand.

"Just let this happen. Don't ruin this moment, please."

"I'm glad you're home, Ace."

* * *

Elena lay in bed for hours tossing and turning. Damon had left the moment Jenna knocked on her bedroom door. She was just checking in with Elena and Damon didn't want to cause any more trouble so he left through her window. However, Elena figured Damon didn't go far. She heard him in the kitchen with Alaric.

Her phone started ringing and Elena jumped at the noise even though she knew that she was the only one in the room since she had a nightlight on.

"Stefan?" Elena answered with a yawn. She sat up in bed and gathered her blanket around her shoulders. She moved to her window seat to see outside. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," he said with his gentle voice. He sounded in pain, but Elena believed that everything was okay. "I just thought we should talk about me going away."

"You're going with Katherine. That's okay. I'm okay with it." Elena thought she hated Katherine. The moment she heard the stories about Katherine playing both Salvatore brothers against one another she hated the woman. But now, it didn't bother her that Stefan was going away with Katherine.

"I know and I just want to let you know that I wouldn't leave unless I knew that you were going to be taken care of." Stefan paused. "I think Damon would do anything for you. I think he's in love with you."

Elena crinkled her eyes in confusion. They never really spoke about Damon's feelings for her. They never had to. Elena always told Stefan that he was the one for her; but that wasn't the case anymore. Things had changed; they had changed.

"What are you saying, Stefan?"

"I'm saying," Stefan took a breath and Elena heard his breath hitch. She bit her lip as she listened to the pain in his voice, the sorrow in his breath. "I can't do this anymore. When I got to the woods you were cradled in his arms; you pushed away anyone else that came near you but Damon. You feel something for him."

"Stefan," Elena tried to intervene with her own tears. "I don't—"

"Please, Elena," Stefan requested. "When I'm gone just think about your feelings for him. Because we're not going to last if you love him like you love me."

"So you're saying you need a break?" Elena asked with a hiccup.

Stefan came into her life when she needed someone safe, but she was no longer the broken girl he met. She wasn't fully over her parents' death; she wasn't sure that she ever would be. But she had grown and she was ready to move on from the car accident. Stefan helped her, but now she didn't need his help. She was starting to want something else.

But hearing Stefan's broken words over the phone made her cry for him. He was in pain. Not once did he ever stop loving her and she felt like she was tearing his heart in two. This reminded her briefly of her break up with Matt, and Elena knew that only time would heal, but it still hurt.

"I'm saying we should just take some time off. You've been through a lot and as much as I love you I don't think that's enough for you anymore."

"I'm sorry, Stefan. I didn't mean for this to happen. I just—" Elena broke off and wiped her eyes to calm down.

"I should go. We're leaving pretty early tomorrow morning."

"Okay. Be safe."

"No matter what happens, Elena, we'll get to the bottom of this. Nothing will happen to you."

* * *

The next day Elena had decided to skip school with Jenna's permission. She had avoided John's three phone calls, Damon's texts, and Caroline's messages. Elena had cleaned her room, the bathroom while avoiding the tub. Images of Damon and her naked together plagued her memory and she felt guilty that she enjoyed his touch when technically she was Stefan's girlfriend. But now she wasn't. They were on a break and that term Elena wasn't really familiar with.

She was just finishing up writing in her diary and putting it away when she felt a breeze go past her. When she turned around from her hiding place she saw Damon sitting on her window seat.

"What are you doing here?" Her voice hitched in her throat.

"What are you doing here? Don't you have school?" Damon stood up and took a step closer to her. Now that he had seen her naked Elena felt as if he could picture her naked anytime. She folded her arms over her chest.

She was supposed to figure out her feelings for him, but Elena didn't know if she could.

"I think I deserve a day off," Elena muttered before moving to her bed. She was in her comfy yoga pants and tank top with her hair up in a messy bun, but she didn't care that Damon was seeing her like this. He had already seen her at her worse. Damon sat down next to her and she jumped.

"What has you so jumpy?" He teased with his devilish smirk.

"Nothing," she squeaked. She had shared a bathtub with him, but when he sat too close to her she blushed like a school girl. She cleared her throat. "I guess I'm still jumpy from the attack," she lied.

Damon narrowed his eyes but didn't say anything. Elena knew that Damon knew she was lying. "So Blondie's on Lockwood duty, Ric and Jeremy are at Duke, and Stefan and Katherine are traveling across the country; would you like some company? Possibly a dinner partner?"

"I don't really feel like going out." Elena motioned to her bruise and winced. There was no hiding her cut or bruising.

"Ordering in is okay too. Pizza? Burgers? Chinese?"

"Chinese sounds good. I'll go get the take out menu." Elena wanted a reason to create space between them. She couldn't stop thinking about the night before.

Before Elena left the room she turned around. She nearly laughed when she saw Damon on her bed with his hands behind his head, his legs crossed while he propped them up as if he owned the place. For some reason, Damon didn't look out of place.

"Hey Damon?"

"What up Ace?"

"Did Stefan tell you anything last night?"

"No," he said confused. "Should he have?"

Elena shrugged and decided not to open that can of worms. She didn't know if her mental capability could handle Damon Salvatore at the moment. There was something between them, however, was she ready for that? He was impulsive, abrasive at times, and stubborn, but he was also loyal and kind to those he cared about which was a short list.

Elena shook her head with a forced smile. "No. I don't know what I was thinking. I'll be right back."

After Elena came back with a menu she was about to call but Damon beat her to it. Together they ordered thirty dollars worth of Chinese food and Elena's mouth dropped open when it was delivered. They had enough food to feed an army.

They had popped in a movie and surprisingly it wasn't that awkward. It was as if they were two old friends hanging out, but there was an unspoken tension between them. When Elena went to go eat the last egg roll Damon stole it from her before she could take a bite.

"I lied," he said casually before biting into the egg roll and giving it back to her. "Earlier, when you asked if Stefan talked to me. I guess I didn't technically lie, but I did overhear your conversation."

Elena held the egg roll in her hand but didn't do anything with it. Her body was frozen as Damon sat up and closer to her. The movie in the background was long forgotten now. "I thought you were with Ric?"

"I was, but I was listening in last night. Just to make sure you weren't in danger."

Elena looked down at the food in her hand and decided to put it down.

"And?" She questioned.

"And I think there's something between us worth figuring out."

Damon's fingers slid underneath her chin; making her look at him. Her breath hitched in her throat when she noticed how close Damon was. She could be covered in bruises and Damon could still make her feel like the most beautiful person in the world.

When Damon leaned in Elena didn't pull away. She was giving him a sign to continue and so his lips smoothed over hers and claimed her mouth. It wasn't slow but it wasn't fast either. Elena couldn't describe the feeling of having Damon kissing her, but she did know it felt exhilarating.

"Don't you agree?" Damon breathed against her lips.

Elena swallowed as their breaths mixed in the air. He was so close that she could feel his body heat.

"Kiss me," she whispered.

* * *

**What do you think happens next? I didn't really leave clues at all, but I can tell you that the more people review, favorite and follow then the faster I will update because you guys rock!**


	6. Bleeding Love

**Author's Note-So I'm seriously speechless right now! You guys are the best reviewers in the world! I love the long reviews the short reviews and the guest reviews. Also, to the people who liked and follow my story, you guys are amazing too! I'll update soon if you guys promise me to tell me what you think. I'm a little cruel towards the end. I hope delena fans like it.**

* * *

"No," John's voice sounded throughout the kitchen.

"Good thing I wasn't asking you, John," Elena accidentally snapped. She may not like John that much, but she was rarely so rude to someone's face. "I was asking Jenna."

A lot had happened over the past week. Although Elena still jumped when loud noises occurred or someone snuck up on her, she was getting back to her old self. Damon had been a huge part of that. After their first official kiss in her bedroom they had continued to kiss until Jenna had gotten home from school. They hadn't done anything besides light touches and caressing, but Elena had a feeling that Damon was okay with that.

Stefan had gotten home later in the week with Katherine and they had stored the moonstone safely in the Salvatore Boarding house. Elena and Stefan were still on a break and they hadn't said more than two words to each other, but he did text her and asked if she was okay. She replied but they didn't speak of anything else. Elena knew that she should tell Stefan about her kiss with Damon, but then she would have to tell him about all of her kisses with Damon and she didn't want to hurt Stefan.

"I don't see why you guys can't go; as long as school isn't being missed and you're back before Monday morning." Jenna continued to stir the soup on the stove. "It's valentine's day Saturday. You deserve to be happy with all this crazy stuff happening."

Elena thought about Valentine's day. She hadn't even realized that the holiday was that weekend. She just wanted to go away with Damon for a weekend to see where things would lead. It hadn't been her idea at first, but two nights ago she and Damon were lying in her bed after she had finished homework and he had suggested spending a secluded weekend away from everyone. Elena had a feeling that he needed to get away from Mystic Falls as much as she did.

And since Jenna probably wouldn't let her go away to a different country with Damon—like he suggested—Elena came up with the next best option: her lake house.

"We have a half day tomorrow so I was thinking Damon and I could just leave right away." Elena bit her lip and pretended that Alaric and John both weren't in the kitchen with disapproving stares.

"That sounds good. The lake will be so pretty; especially this time of year. Maybe there will still be snow out. It'll be gorgeous!" Jenna went over to the top of the refrigerator and unhooked the lake house key from a key chain. "Here you go kid."

"Can we please talk about the elephant in the room?" John questioned.

"Can we please not talk to you at all?" Jenna retorted childishly.

John ignored her. "Damon is a vampire. He's a killer. He and Stefan are not safe to be around. Isobel warned you that as long as you have a Salvatore then your life is pretty much ruined."

"Isobel as in Ric's dead wife who turned vampire? The one that Damon turned?" Jenna surprised everyone in the kitchen when she stated the facts. She shrugged. "What? Ric's been catching me up. So has Damon."

"You've talked to Damon?" Alaric asked.

"Only when he leaves through our front door, which isn't very often."

"I have proof that might just make you change your mind about how friendly he is," John said as he went to his suitcase stationed outside the kitchen. Elena and Jenna smiled at each other. They were used to John and his attitude of always getting his way. But Elena was determined not to let John spoil her plans. "Here," he said while shoving multiple pictures down onto the island in the kitchen.

"Oh god," Elena moaned as she winced and looked away. The pictures were gruesome.

"Here," John pointed to the first one. "This is from 1958. A twenty-one year old girl, brunette hair, one hundred and twenty pounds, five foot six. She was walking home and was killed. See the two holes in her neck?" John switched to a different picture. This one had more blood around the body. "This one is from 1975. She was twenty years old, brunette hair, and approximately five foot six again. She was killed by a vampire."

"I don't see the point," Elena mumbled. "Why are you showing us old crime photos?"

"This one was the worst one." John held it up and Elena felt sick to her stomach. "In this picture are three bodies. A girl no older than eighteen, her mother, and brother. All drained of blood, their bodies in pieces, but put back together. They were attacked in their home. This happened in Northern Virginia recently; right before the Salvatores came to Mystic Falls."

Elena knew what John was saying but Alaric still asked the question.

"What's your point John?"

Elena didn't want to believe him. He wasn't a ripper. Stefan was though. How could John expect Elena to believe him; although the pictures proved some vampire killed these people.

"Do you see the resemblance to the girls? They are all Elena's description. All brunettes, long hair, around her age, and this last one resembles the family that she lives with. Someone took the time and hunted down these people; this family!" John shoved the last picture at Alaric. "I'm sure Damon killed the first two because they resembled Katherine, but this last picture is damn near close to being Jenna and Jeremy. He's a hunter; a killer."

"No," Elena said with shock. Bile was rising in her throat as she shoved away from the island and the evidence. "How do you even know that Damon did this? He doesn't rip apart people. Stefan was the ripper."

"I know because I've been following his kills for years now. These aren't even half of the people he's killed. These aren't even a proportion of the people he's killed! I know his patterns, the way his teeth sinks into a person's neck is distinct from any other vampire. It's like a thumb print. No two vampires bite the same." John walked closer to Elena.

"He's a killer who had a target for girls like you."

Elena shook her head. "He's killed, but…he would never hurt me." Elena said it with what she hoped was a strong voice, but inside she was even doubting herself. When was the last time that Damon killed? Did he really go after girls with brown hair more than others?

Elena raised her chin. "Damon would never hurt me," she repeated.

"Open your eyes Elena," John demanded. "Damon is a killer! Who do you think I got my information from? Everything I learned I learned from your father and his research! He was a vampire hunter and I am too. Our whole family is! I've been tracking Damon and Stefan since I learned about them. They are dangerous!"

"That's enough John!" Jenna yelled. "I think you need to leave."

"You can't kick me out," he snarled.

"Yes," she pushed him in the chest. "I can. And you better be gone in five minutes or I'm calling the sheriff."

"You can't keep me from my daughter," he said.

"I'm not your daughter," Elena hissed before storming up to her room.

* * *

Elena had hardly slept the night before. She didn't want to let John's words effect her, but she couldn't help it. Those pictures kept running through her head. And the more she thought about it the more she realized the girls in the photos did resemble her; but she knew that Damon didn't kill them because of her. She hadn't even known him back in 1958. However, the recent kill before he came to Mystic Falls bothered her the most.

The family was just like she, Jeremy, and Jenna.

But Damon would never hurt them. John just wanted to mess with her.

"So as far as I know, Tyler hasn't been activated yet," Caroline said as they walked side by side out of school for the weekend. "I've been talking to him and he's noticed some things about me."

"Like what things?" Elena stressed. This worried her. If Tyler found out about vampires then she knew Damon wouldn't like that and it would endanger him even more.

"Just some supernatural things." Caroline threw her hand up though to stop Elena from whatever she was going to say. "But don't worry. I won't tell him anything. It's not really a big deal, but I do have to say something to get him to trust me. He's freaking out right now. He's noticed some _changes_ going on with his body."

Whatever Elena was about to say died off her tongue when they entered the parking lot. Damon was parked next to her car and leaning against his baby blue camaro. He lowered his sunglasses and smirked at her with his dark blue eyes.

Elena was aware of all the girls and even guys looking at Damon in their parking lot. Most of the girls were openly gawking at him and all his bad boy glory. He was wearing a black t-shirt that clung to his body like a second skin and tight black jeans.

"Have a good weekend," Caroline hummed into Elena's ear before sauntering off.

Elena waved Caroline off before walking up to Damon shyly. She was sure her face was blushing red. There was an audience watching them.

In that moment, John's words floated out of her head as she stood in front of Damon. She twisted her hands behind her back coyly and smiled.

"Hi," she whispered.

"Hey yourself," he answered back coolly before looking around at everyone staring. He motioned for her to come closer and he wrapped his arms around her lower back to bring her flush against his body. "Does everyone stare at you in school?" He whispered into her ear.

"Only when I have an attractive guy nearby," she coyly responded. The soft fabric of her white dress did nothing to separate her body with his. She could feel every hard plane of his body. "I think Amy Bradley is having a heart attack being near you."

"Let's give them a show."

Damon pressed a kiss below her ear before he claimed her mouth. The kiss was like a slow, burning fire that started in Elena's toes and traveled up her legs to make her knees feel like jell-o. His hand stayed on her lower back, his fingers spreading out to claim her while his other hand moved up to her face. He never covered her whole face, but he always ran his fingers over her cheek, tilted her chin, and softly pushed hair behind her ear. Damon Salvatore never wanted to hide her. He always wanted to keep her open to the world.

The ache settled in her lower stomach, making a tingle sensation travel up to her heart. It was beating fast and hard as he slipped his tongue into her mouth right in the student parking lot. If people weren't looking before then they certainly were now.

Elena tangled her hands in his hair, playing with the small strands at the back of his neck. Her body was pressed against his as he leaned against his car. She was caging him in and she didn't even know it. Her bare legs stood between his and when she wrapped one around his calf and her heel of her shoe dug into his body he moaned.

"You look absolutely divine in this dress," he whispered hotly into her ear. "But I bet it looks even better off of you."

Elena was wearing a white dress with thin straps. It was a summer dress and so she paired it with a light cardigan. She chose to wear brown boots knowing they made her legs look longer.

"And I think we gave them a show. Let's take this somewhere more private." Damon unwrapped himself from Elena and it was in that moment that she realized what she just partook in.

If Stefan was on campus then he would have felt hurt, and Elena would have felt guilty for shoving her new feelings for Damon in his face. But Stefan wasn't at school that day and so the guilt wasn't that strong. Although, Elena didn't feel guilty for having feelings for Damon. Instead, she felt guilty for keeping it from Stefan. They had to sit down soon and have a serious conversation.

Damon opened the passenger door for her. "After you," he gestured to the car.

"My bag is in my car. I'll go get it," she offered as a faint blush still coated her cheeks.

"No need," Damon flashed her white teeth and his famous smirk. "I already grabbed it with Little Gilbert's help. He'll drive your car home."

Elena slid past Damon and sat down. "You think you're so clever," she joked.

"Oh honey," he dismissed with flared eyes. Damon got into the car. "I am clever. But I'm also known for more than my looks."

Damon slid his sunglasses into place and Elena smiled as they passed by all her classmates who openly stared at them. She knew the rumor mill would be all about her the next week, but it would pass. Right now, they were all concentrating on talking behind her back about her bruises. Next, it would be about her and Damon.

Elena almost jumped when Damon slid his hand over hers and intertwined their fingers. She was surprised. She didn't know how Damon handled relationships. He hadn't really been in one since the civil war era. Or at least she didn't think he had been in one.

"Your bruises are looking better. The cut might scar though if you don't let me heal it," he said blatantly. His hand tightened a little as they started to drive on the main road in town. "Mason Lockwood is still out there. I can track him down. He deserves to pay for what he did."

"He was going to save me, Damon," Elena countered softly. She squeezed his hand in comfort. "I know he was."

"Then why did he take you in the first place?" Damon countered. "When I track him down he's a dead man."

His words haunted her. She stared out the window and watched as her town blurred together. It was only a two hour drive to the lake house, but all Elena could think about were the dead people John showed her the night before. She didn't want those pictures to ruin their time together; not when they were supposed to be figuring out their feelings, but the blood, gore, and murder stayed in her mind.

She looked at Damon out of the corner of her eye. He looked so careless as he drove with one hand. The corner of his mouth was up and he turned to look at her. She was caught red handed.

"Something on your mind?"

Elena kept her mouth shut. They never lied to each other. That was one problem with her past relationship. She wasn't about to start lying now.

"Nothing important," she answered with a small smile.

Elena had an agenda that weekend. One, she had to talk to Damon about Stefan. Two, she had to talk to Stefan about Damon. Three, she had to figure out if her feelings were genuine for Damon or if it's just attraction. And four, was Damon a murderer? Did he kill that family and why?

If he liked killing people who were similar to her, could Elena be next sometime in the future?

She doubted that, and she knew John was just messing with her head to try to keep her safe, and she believed Damon would never hurt her. If anything, he would give his life to protect her and Elena would do the same to protect him.

* * *

They had arrived at the lake house around three in the afternoon. Elena was surprised when Damon started unloading the car and saw a bunch of groceries. She stared at him from the porch.

"What Ace? You've never seen food before?" Damon teased as he walked by her with four bags in hand.

"Are you planning on cooking? You know there's a diner like ten miles from here, right?" She asked.

Damon winked at her. "I happen to be an amazing cook. Plus, it'll be nice to just stay in."

"Agreed."

Elena gave him the tour of the cabin and took her to his room. She didn't want to stay in the biggest room that belonged to her parents. Damon understood without her having to explain or say anything. But her room was nice, nonetheless. At least she had a queen size bed. It would be big enough for the both of them.

When Elena shivered Damon noticed right away. "Come on, I'll start a fire and you go change into something warmer."

The evening went by smoothly and when dinner approached Damon was in the kitchen with Elena, showing her how to cook a simple steak and potato meal. It wasn't his favorite dish, but he knew that Elena liked the classics.

"How did you know I liked this meal?" She asked as he stood right behind her, leading her hands with a knife. They were dicing potatoes together, but Elena found him very distracting with how close he was to her. Once again, she could feel every hard plane of his body.

"I'm very observant," he smirked before pressing a kiss to the inside of her neck. "Tomorrow I'll cook my favorite meal."

"Mmhmm," she hummed as he pressed another kiss to the side of her neck. "What is it?"

"That's a surprise," he whispered huskily in her ear.

Throughout the afternoon she had gotten to know Damon a little bit better. They hadn't talked about anything deep, but she learned the basics about him. He was secretive and very good at deflecting so the attention was on her the whole time.

But the more she learned, the more she fell for him.

The more she fell for him, the more she remembered the stupid crime scene pictures.

"Can I ask you something?" She whispered. "And I don't want it to ruin the moment, but it's been on my mind since yesterday."

"This doesn't sound too good," he humored her.

"John told me something yesterday and it was about you." She slid out from in front of him and turned around to look at him. "And I don't know if it's true but then he mentioned my dad and I don't think John's even that cruel to be using my dad against me."

Damon furrowed his eye brows and concern was written all over his face. Elena felt guilt for even bringing this up, but now she had to because she caught Damon's attention.

"Go on," Damon encouraged.

"John said my dad was a vampire hunter; kind of like Alaric. And that my dad taught John everything he knew. John said that he's been following you; tracking you ever since finding out about vampires and that my dad had been too."

Elena looked down at the ground in shame for even thinking about Damon killing those people. He couldn't have been that cruel and killed that family, could he? There had to be a reason.

"He showed me pictures…pictures of victims. And he said that you killed them."

"And?" Damon pressed on.

Elena took a breath and finally looked up into his eyes. They were a deep blue, nearly black as he listened to her.

"And all the girls were similar to me, but there was this family. A mother, brother, and sister. They were killed right before you got to Mystic Falls. John said that you did that. They were ripped apart in pieces."

Elena stayed silent; waiting for Damon to deny it, but he never did.

"You actually killed them," she whispered in harsh reality. "You killed a family piece by piece."

"That's who I am Elena. I'm a killer; a predator. And yah, the girls all look like you, but I don't choose them because of that reason. I choose my prey because they all look like Katherine. It has nothing to do with you."

Damon turned away from her and started putting the sliced potatoes into a pot of boiling water.

"Nothing to do with me?" She exclaimed. "That family died! The family who just so happens to be similar with Jeremy, Jenna, and I! Not to mention the fact that John has been tracking you! My father tracked you! Did you know? Did you know that my father was planning on hunting you?"

Elena grabbed Damon's arm and made him turn to look at her. He was acting as if all of this was okay when it wasn't.

"Will you look at me?" She screeched with frustration. "I'm talking to you!"

"No," he said calmly and Elena felt she was being chided. "You're yelling at me about something unimportant. I'm talking."

Elena narrowed her eyes and she swore she saw red when Damon looked down to her. "I accuse you of killing people, John has been following you, and then I find out that my dad also had been following you." Elena felt overwhelmed as she thought about her dad and his extracurricular activities. He was gone and so he couldn't explain himself and Elena had mixed feelings about the whole situation.

"Did you know my dad?"

"No," Damon answered gravely. "But I did know someone was tracking me. I didn't know it was your father and I didn't know it was John."

"I need to know why," she hissed. "Why those girls?"

"Did you ever stop and think that maybe I was defending myself? That maybe I was the victim who had to fight for my life?" Damon once again tried to turn away from her but she latched on and tugged. He used his vampire speed and twirled her around so that she was cornered now. The countertop was digging into her skin and she winced.

"I kill Elena. I feed and kill, but that was when my humanity was turned off. I haven't attacked anyone recently because I'm trying to be a better man. The man that you deserve." Damon's voice was dark and dangerous as he held her by the upper arms. "I am trying so hard to be a better person but I _can't_. I have this urge," he growled.

"Damon," Elena was cut off.

"I want to kill. To prey on the weak. I need blood and it's so hard but I am doing this for you because you deserve someone better. Someone safe. Someone who can protect you and be what you want."

What Elena did next surprised them both. She attacked his mouth with a vigorous force. Her arms broke free of Damon's grip and she ran her hands through his hair. She pulled at the strands and moaned into his mouth as her body was flush against his.

Damon didn't let her have all the control. His pelvis thrust against hers, making a heat pool in her stomach. His hands were everywhere on her body; his teeth tugging at her lip.

"I'm bad for you," he groaned against her lips before pressing kisses down her neck and to her exposed collarbone

"Maybe," Elena panted as she used her hands to harshly pull his head up so she could look into his eyes to make her point. "I like a little bad."

Damon smirked. Elena's nipples were hard and straining against her thin cotton shirt. She knew Damon could feel them.

"Maybe," she wrapped her bare leg around his waist to pull him closer. "I'm a little bad too."

They both completely forgot about dinner. Elena squealed when Damon's hands went to her bottom and lifted her up so she could wrap her legs around his waist. She laughed as she pressed kisses into her chest, her cleavage showing.

"Damon!" She exclaimed.

"If you like bad, then I'll show you bad. No going back," he told her with a serious tone.

Elena swallowed; the playful look vanished from both of their eyes. Her core was lined up to his erection and she was slowly moving up and down to rub herself against him. She needed a release, just like she knew Damon needed one.

"What if I don't want to go back?" She asked breathlessly.

Damon flared his eyes as his grip tightened on her.

"Then we won't go back."


	7. A Sky Full of Stars

**Author's Note-Once again you guys inspire me to keep writing. I wanted to post this sooner, but I felt like I wasn't giving some of the scenes (the first one) justice. I hope you all like. Also, feel free to ask my questions, although I can't promise to reveal the plot. And I'm already thinking about making a sequel. I have ideas and an outline in the mix!**

* * *

Elena didn't know where she and Damon stumbled but she was sure she felt the heat of the fire from the living room somewhere on her skin. It was hard to distinguish the heat she felt from the fire and the heat she felt from Damon's mouth that seemed to be everywhere on her body.

Her hands couldn't stay still as she dropped down from Damon's waist and her hands flew to the backside of his shirt. She tugged upward a little bit; just enough to let her hands go under the material and touch his bare back. Her nails raked over his skin as his hands pushed her hair aside. His mouth followed and slid over her exposed body; making her moan from the bruising force.

Elena pulled his face back to her own and claimed his mouth roughly. There was no going slow at this point as the tension finally spilled over. Now it was just raw and animalistic.

Damon tore the shirt over her head so she was standing in front of him in just her black lace bra and short, plaid pajama shorts. He took her in for just a second and Elena saw his eyes flare with want and desire.

She wasn't even fully naked yet.

"Fuck, you're perfect." His hand wrapped around her neck and waist; lips traveling between the valley of her breasts. He moved the cup of her bra with his teeth and her nipple became exposed.

"Damon," Elena panted as her hands raked through his hair, pulling it in every direction; hoping that by gripping onto him she wouldn't fall.

With a rip in the front, her bra was flung aside. Her other breast was being kneaded by Damon's hand until her nipples were rock hard and poking out. They were so delicate and sensitive to touch that she was putty in Damon's hands.

Elena worked on tugging Damon's shirt up and over his head so his chest was bare. But she didn't stop there. He clearly had a bulge in his pants that was being too restrained by his jeans. Her fingers danced around the snap before she finally slid his jeans down. She wasn't surprised that Damon went commando. There was something about him that oozed sex and she wanted it.

Damon kissed down her breasts, her stomach, and sides as he pulled her shorts down. She shut her eyes as he was crouching in front of her. He skipped over her underwear and kissed down her thighs.

"You're shaking," he whispered against her skin. "Don't be nervous." He looked up at her under hooded eyes and all she could do was nod her head. If she spoke Elena was afraid she would say something stupid and ruin the moment.

Somehow, Elena didn't know when, their quick, hasty movements turned into something slow and burning. The longer it took Damon to undress her and worship her body the more Elena felt a quiver in her stomach.

"May I?" He asked with a devilish smirk. Damon's long fingers were already hooked around the band of her panties and he pulled them down and away from her body. The fire flickered across his face as he kissed his way up her legs again, but stayed crouching in front of her so he was at the perfect height. "You're perfect."

His teeth grazed her skin and Elena felt the point of one. These teeth had killed hundreds of people, drank the blood of thousands. But it was hard to remember just how sinful Damon was when his tongue flicked out and hit her sensitive clit. Her knees buckled from surprise and Damon's arms shot out to steady her.

Elena took his lead and allowed him to bring her down to his knees. "We're not going slow. I've waited too long for this."

Elena leaned in and whispered in his ear. "You're not the only one who's waited for this."

Elena allowed Damon to lower her to the ground and her hair fanned out beneath her as Damon hovered over her. His blue eyes were a deep blue and never ending that Elena could just get lost in his eyes and she would be fine.

But then his lips connected with hers again and she moaned into the kiss. His pelvis was lined up perfectly to her center and the tip was rubbing her core. Elena's hands gripped his back and pulled him closer and he let out a groan. It was deep and primal and she loved it.

"You have no idea what you do to me," he spoke against her lips. "You're so wet already; so willing."

His tip pushed in slightly but then he removed his head.

"Damon," Elena moaned. "I need…I want…" She was at a loss for words and then finally she demanded, " Fuck me."

His eyes flared and Damon entered her in one slick movement. Elena's body arched up as they both let out groans of pleasure. He was right; they weren't taking it slow as her nails latched onto his back. He was pounding into her relentlessly and it felt so good; so natural.

Lips found each other in a blind mess of passion, romance, and heat. Elena explored Damon's mouth with her tongue as his fingers laced through hers and held them above her head. When Elena felt a small prick on her tongue and tasted blood she knew that Damon's canine tooth cut her. She didn't pull out, however, as Damon cradled her tongue with his own; taking the small amount of blood she offered.

Elena felt it building as Damon kissed down her neck. Their bodies were slick with sweat from the heat between them and the fire roaring in the background.

Holding back a whimper and a moan, Elena shut her eyes in pure bliss. Her back was arching and she was offering Damon anything he wanted. In that moment he could have asked for anything and Elena would have granted him his wishes.

"Scream Elena," he commanded.

Her hands broke free from his and she pulled him closer with her legs wrapped around his hips and her nails in his back. Damon arched into her and she saw a glimpse of his vampire teeth but he quickly hid them again. She was sure she drew blood.

The feeling of hearing Damon in pleasure and having him worship her body started the tidal wave in her stomach. It was working through her system and with one more pump from Damon she was sent over the edge and she climaxed; moaning his name as her heart beat fast and her body quivered and clenched around his cock.

He was still inside of her, thrusting at an uncontrollable rate. Elena didn't know if she had another orgasm in her, and was surprised when her body started to feel the familiar feeling again. She grabbed onto his head and forced his mouth on her once more. While Damon was distracted she used momentum to turn them so she was now on top.

He looked up at her in surprise when she pulled back and pushed her hair out of the way. His hands reached up but she pushed them down much like how he did to her. Mouths clashed in battle and Elena tugged on his bottom lip; nearly drawing blood.

She had never really thought about it with Stefan. Blood play couldn't be done between them because of his control issues, but Damon had a small taste of her just now and he seemed to be in perfect control still. She hadn't even seen a flash of red eyes or black veins come out to play.

Damon flipped them again using vampire speed and he gave her a toothy grin. Her legs were over his shoulders now and he penetrated her deeper. She felt her release coming as Damon's hands ran down her legs and his thumb twirled over her clit.

"That's it Ace," he encouraged roughly.

And then they both fell over the edge together, Elena shaking so violently around his cock. Her legs lowered from his shoulders on their own and Damon's body falling over hers. He tried to hold his weight up on his arms but he ended up resting his sweaty head on her chest.

"Your heart is beating so fast," he murmured. "You're shaking too."

Elena was coming down from her high, fingers absentmindedly running through Damon's locks, pushing his drenched hair from his forehead. "You're shaking too," she pointed out softly.

Speaking any louder felt like it would ruin the moment.

"That was amazing for round one," he stated cockily. "I'm so glad you used to be a cheerleader. I'll show you moves you've never seen before."

Elena rolled her eyes and propped herself up on her elbows. She was looking for a pillow and somehow Damon knew because he reached behind himself and grabbed one from the couch.

"Here," he said as he laid back on it and Elena cuddled up to his side, resting her head on his bare chest. Damon draped a blanket over them and Elena stared into the fire.

"We didn't eat dinner," she pouted and then laughed as she looked back at the mess they left in the kitchen.

"I had some dinner," Damon made reference to the cut on her tongue. "Which brings me to the next topic of conversation that we have to discuss: blood sharing."

"Can't we just skip that conversation, take a quick nap, and then start round two?" She joked before sighing; knowing Damon was right. "Honestly?" She decided to be blunt with him. "I've never really thought about blood sharing before. It's never really been an option, but I was okay with it tonight. Your tooth accidentally cut me and it didn't hurt."

"I would never bite you if you didn't want me to. You know that, don't you?" Damon asked softly. He ran his fingers through her hair before playing with the tips.

"You need blood, Damon. If our argument taught me anything tonight, it's that you need blood and I can't ask you to change for me. If you need it from the vein then," and Elena hesitated.

"You're blushing," he commented.

She buried her head into his chest before rushing through her next sentence. "I'd rather you take blood from me than from an unwilling, unsuspecting person." Elena didn't like the look on his face and she had a feeling that she knew what Damon was going to say next and so she beat him to it. "I know that you won't be able to feed from me every time, and so we have to compromise. You feed from me and when you can't then you use a blood bag."

"You're not a snack Elena," he snapped unintentionally. "I can't just use you for a meal."

"But you're not using me. I want this. Stefan told me that vampires can make it feel good for both the receiver and the giver. It's not common for this to happen, but I want to do this for you. I want to make you feel good."

Damon took a minute to say something. Elena noticed him staring off into the fire before he looked her directly in the eye. "Under one condition."

"Anything."

"You have to let me heal you after. I won't give you enough blood to become a vampire, but just enough so the marks aren't there."

Elena chewed her lip; the activities of the night finally catching up to her body. "Deal."

Damon pressed a kiss to the top of her head and Elena tucked her head under his chin. They both drifted off to sleep with the fire being the only light in the room.

* * *

"So I don't want to offend you, but I can't drink animal blood anymore." Caroline risked a glance at Stefan and bit her lip guiltily. "And I've been drinking blood bags behind your back."

Stefan weakly chuckled and sat down on the stump. They were in the middle of the woods. Stefan had needed to hunt and Caroline decided to tag along.

"Oh god," Caroline panicked. "You're mad now. And matt's mad at me because I've been ditching him for vampire and werewolf issues. Tyler's getting irritated at me! I can't take you being mad at me too."

"Caroline," Stefan said calmly and with a hint of a smile. "I know you've been drinking blood bags. There's no possible solution to having this much control other than you being on bags."

Caroline's shoulders drooped in relief. "Oh. Then why are you brooding?" Caroline sat next to Stefan. "You have your serious face on."

"I've tried calling Elena all afternoon, but she's not answering or her phone is turned off. Damon's nowhere to be found. I know Elena and I are on a break, but do you think they're together?"

Caroline bit her lip. She felt bad for Stefan. But she was Elena's best friend. She couldn't just throw Elena under the bus.

"It's valentine's day tomorrow. I wanted to take her out."

Caroline mentally swooned at how sweet Stefan sounded. Caroline caved.

"She's at her lake house…with Damon." Caroline watched as Stefan crumbled right before her eyes. He looked like a boy losing his first love.

"Stefan, look at me," she requested. "If you love Elena, like really, _really_ love her then go to her. Don't let her go without a fight."

"I don't even know where her lake house is."

The blonde beamed. "Luckily, I do. It's on the outskirts of this small town called Rollings."

"Thanks for the tip."

Caroline and Stefan jumped in surprise. They hadn't heard Mason approach.

"Mason," Stefan growled. "You shouldn't have come here. You're out numbered."

Mason smirked. "I got the information I needed. Now I just need to get you two out of the way."

"We're stronger than you," Caroline said and raised her chin.

"Not with a witch on my side."

Caroline and Stefan were down on the ground, clutching their heads, and screaming in agony. Their brains were exploding over and over again. They couldn't move as Mason came closer. He snapped Caroline's neck first before he crouched next to Stefan.

"By the time you warn your brother he will have fried in the sun." Mason snapped Stefan's neck next.

* * *

Damon felt a heaviness on his chest and smiled when he looked down at Elena. The fire was dying down and he would have to get more wood, but there was no way he was moving without waking her. Elena's legs were so tangled with his that he couldn't tell where he started and she ended.

And just like clockwork, the first move he made Elena mumbled something and groggily opened her eyes.

"Go back to sleep, Ace," Damon whispered as he put his pants back on.

"Where are you going?" She slurred slightly. When she yawned and tried to sit up Damon bundled her up in the blanket and kissed her forehead.

"I'm just getting more wood from the shed. Go to sleep baby."

When he heard her breathing even out again he sauntered outside. The cold didn't affect him as much as a human and so he didn't bother with a shirt.

Damon heard a creak to his left and he narrowed his eyes. If there was another vampire then Elena was safe inside the house, and if it was something else then Damon would protect her with his life.

Looking around the corner, nothing was there but an old porch swing.

When Damon turned around he used vampire speed and strength to grip none other than Mason Lockwood by the throat.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to sneak up on a vampire?"

"Didn't your mom ever tell you not to piss off a werewolf?"

A young woman stepped into view and started to chant. Her chanting brought Damon to his knees.

"You won't be needing this," Mason sneered and took Damon's ring from his finger.

* * *

"Elena," a voice sung out to her. She slowly opened her eyes; thinking it was Damon waking her up for round two. "Time to wake up," the voice said slowly, and it was then Elena realized it wasn't Damon's voice at all.

She jolted up with a gasp, holding the sheet close to her body.

Mason turned on the light switch and Elena blinked rapidly to make sure that she wasn't seeing things. When she turned to her side Damon wasn't there but Mason was with a sick and twisted grin on his face.

"Damon?" She whispered more to herself than to Mason.

"He's got a couple of broken ribs, a broken neck, and his ego to heal before he can even think about coming back here to save you. Not to mention when the sun comes up in twenty minutes he'll be burning alive." Mason held up Damon's daylight ring.

"Give it back," Elena demanded. "Whatever you did to Damon I bet he didn't go down without a fight." Elena paused and by this time she didn't care if she made matters worse for herself. She couldn't stop the words from pouring out of her with venom. "Or I bet you had your stupid witch help you take him down. There's no way you're stronger than him."

Mason growled and Elena saw his eyes go yellow. Fear should have taken over her body, but she couldn't let it. She had to outsmart and out power Mason in order to find Damon somewhere in the woods in order to save him from the sun.

"Do exactly as I say or you're going to die next." Mason threw her panties and a black shirt her way. Elena grabbed the items and realized it was Damon's shirt. "Get dressed. Unless you want to leave here with me naked." Mason sent her a smirk that sent a dangerous chill down her spine.

Elena waited for him to turn away, but he didn't.

"Don't be shy. I've slept with Katherine one too many times. I know exactly what your body looks like."

Elena gritted her teeth and slid her underwear on under the sheet that was barely covering her chest. Next she tried, unsuccessfully, to put Damon's shirt on without showing anything but Mason still got the view of her body.

"That's a good girl," Mason cooed.

"I thought you weren't going to kill me. I thought you were a good guy."

Mason grabbed onto Elena's arm and tugged her up.

"I was until your boyfriend decided to kill my whole pack. He murdered them and now I'm going to kill you. But first, we have to get the moonstone and I know for a fact you know where it is."

Mason started dragging her to the car but Elena resisted.

"No!" She yelled. "Let go of me!" She clawed at him and was happy when she scratched down his whole face, his blood coating her nails. He howled in pain and anger as he let go of her to dab at his wounds.

Elena bolted up the stairs of her cabin and looked around for any hiding place. She and Jeremy used to play hide and seek all the time at the cabin and they always found weird places that no one would think of looking at. She made her way to her bedroom and slammed the door hard. She hoped Mason heard because then she quickly ran across the hall and went into her parents open bedroom.

Under the bed and in the closet were not good hiding places and when she heard Mason coming up the stairs, she panicked and looked at the window. Her parents had a small ledge out there, but there was no time for that. Instead, Elena saw the chest at the edge of her parents bed and quickly got into that. She had to lay with her back down and her knees drawn up to her chest in a fetal position, but she was hidden.

Jeremy never found her in that chest when they played. Mason wouldn't either.

"You're not quiet, Elena. I heard you come up here." Mason sang out with a grin in his voice.

Elena listened closely. She knew the sounds of the cabin like the back of her hand. If he went into Jeremy's room next then she would have time to run down the stairs and out the door. She just had to listen to the squeaky floorboard and…

Mason stepped into Jeremy's room. Elena moved silently and ran down the stairs. Mason must have heard her though because he was right behind her.

The front door was open but she didn't remember it being like that when Mason was in. However, she didn't second guess it and ran right out onto the porch. Mason's howl came next and she twirled around to see Caroline and Stefan standing on her porch and Mason keeled over with a stick in his stomach.

"We had to improvise since we can't get inside," Caroline chirped. It was as if her friend wasn't affected by Mason bleeding out right in front of her. "He snapped our necks hours ago. Fair is fair."

"Say goodbye dick," Caroline smirked before Stefan snapped his neck.

"No!" Elena yelled, but it was too late. "I don't know where Damon is and he doesn't have his ring," Elena whispered in horror as the sun started to come up.

Elena wasted no time in going through Mason's pockets and finding Damon's ring. She turned to Caroline and Stefan. "You guys can come in." Elena walked inside and didn't bother with a jacket, gloves, or hat. She slid into her snow boots and gripped onto Damon's ring with all of her might.

"You guys check the perimeter of the woods. I'm going directly in. If you two find him then drag him back here. I'll take the ring in case I find him." Elena started out towards the woods and prayed that he found shelter somewhere. The trees were bare that time of year and so the sun would be directly on him in a matter of minutes.

"Elena," Stefan started to say.

Elena looked at him. His green eyes were so soft and gentle and Elena knew she would be hurting him soon. From the look she gave him Stefan knew it too. He nodded at her instead. Finding Damon was top priority. They could talk later.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to Stefan before she took off.

Stefan took the east side while Caroline took the west side.

Elena didn't care what she ran into. She called out Damon's name, yelled it so anyone close by could hear. He had to be awake by now so why wasn't he answering back?

"Damon!" Elena called out again. She stood frozen to make sure that she didn't miss him. The sun was higher in the sky. He would certainly burn and it would be her fault. "Damon!"

She ran straight ahead, noticing that some of the snow below her was disturbed. Someone had been on that path. Tears threatened to fall on her chapped cheeks, her breath could be seen due to the cold air and her legs were so raw and red that she was sure she was turning into a popsicle. Why didn't she put pants on? .

Her feet carried her through the windy path, following the drag marks on the ground. If she remembered correctly then this path led to an abandoned shack that was falling apart. If Damon saw that then he was probably trying to take cover even though half the wood was gone and the shack was hardly able to stand because of the crummy foundation.

"Damon!" She yelled as she saw the shack.

"Elena!" He called back. "My ring…" he trailed off and whatever he said she couldn't hear.

"I'm here, Damon," she cried. "I'm here and I have your ring." She moved through the snow that had become heavier around the building. The door was pushed down and when Elena turned the small corner she grasped onto Damon. His skin was fried, a blistering orange and pink bubbling all over his skin and exposed chest.

He was leaning against the side wall, his hand held up to shield his face that came in through the cracks in the trees.

"Mason," Damon uttered their attacker's name.

Elena rushed forward and pushed Damon's ring on his finger. "I know it was him. Stefan killed him. He's gone."

"Damon!" Caroline called out. She and Stefan rushed to where Elena and Damon were, but stood further away. Stefan was frozen in his spot as he watched Damon and Elena interact with one another. Caroline didn't want to rush forward either because she saw the heartbreak in Stefan's eyes.

Elena didn't care that Damon's skin was still blistered and he didn't either as he wrapped her in his arms and held her close. Her hands reached up and tangled in his hair, pulling his mouth down to hers.

"I tried to come back for you," Damon said frantically as his hands skimmed over her exposed skin. He pulled back from her mouth and looked her over. His fingers touched her cheeks, her cold arms, and when he reached back up his hands overlapped hers as she cupped his face.

"I'm here. It's okay," she kept repeating more to herself than to him. Her heart was pounding and she was sure she was going to have a heart attack. "I thought…" she gulped as she couldn't force the words out of her mouth. "I wasn't going to make it in time."

"That fucker had me further down the hill and by the time I woke up the sun was out. I tried Elena, I tried getting back to you but the sun…" Damon shut his eyes in shame.

His skin was nearly clear now as her cold hands were still touching his cheeks; anything to make her believe that he was real.

Her feelings were strong for him; this moment proved that. Damon was right before, there was no going back now. She was his and he was hers.

"Look at me," she whispered.

Damon looked at her and wiped away a tear that escaped her eye. "Don't cry. It's okay. He didn't hurt you, did he? Didn't touch you? I swear I'll kill him all over again if he laid a finger on you and—"

"Damon," she cut him off by laying a finger over his mouth. "I'm fine. A little cold considering I'm wearing only a t-shirt and no pants, but fine nonetheless."

"We have to get you inside right away." His body was close to hers and she could feel a little heat coming from him. "You're gonna catch a—"

She placed a finger over his mouth again. He looked at her with surprise when she cut him off for a second time. She had one thing to say before he could whisk her away.

"I love you."

* * *

**Author's Note-If only she realized this sooner in the show. And seriously, I saw the twenty second clip from season 6 and I can't believe they would tease us like that! I can't wait for season 6 and everyone's new beginnings. All the characters deserve one.**


	8. Home Sweet Home

**Author's Note-So for some reason it feels like forever since I've posted. You guys are still as amazing as ever! I love that people are still liking and following this story. And I also am very thankful for the new readers to review my first couple of chapters still. I love your guys' feedback and I hope you guys keep reading. Let me know what you think! This is a slow chapter, just a heads up.**

* * *

Using vampire speed, it only took Damon two minutes to get Elena back to the cabin. She was freezing to his touch, more than usual since the girl was always cold even in ninety degree weather. He didn't see Stefan or Caroline following him, but he really didn't care. The only thing that mattered was getting Elena back to the cabin with a roaring fire.

"Damon," Elena said, but he didn't say anything. He placed her down on the couch, wrapped her in a blanket, and built a fire.

His movements were fast and jerky as anger coursed through his body. He had seen Mason's dead body on the porch and decided he would go take care of that so he could cool off.

"I'll be right back," he said without looking at Elena. If he looked at her small form shaking due to the cold that Mason forced her in then he would break and lash out on her. He was sure of it. He had to stay away for now. "I have to take care of something."

Damon decided that Mason didn't deserve a proper grave or even a hole in the ground. Instead, he did something that he would never tell Elena because it would be too sensitive for her ears. He grabbed the ax that is used for chopping wood and hauled Mason's body over his shoulder. Damon carried him down to the river that wasn't frozen all the way because the current was moving too fast.

He threw the body down on the ground and within a second he started hacking away at the body. He wanted Mason to pay for what he put Elena through. He wanted a body part for each individual tear Elena had cried. And since Elena was tortured by his pack using a drowning method, Damon saw it fit to just throw Mason's small body parts into the river so no one would ever find him. He'd be fish bait before he reached the nearest town.

"You don't have to do this, Damon," Stefan's voice broke through the early morning sunrise.

Damon didn't look Stefan in the eye. He had seen the way his brother watched him and Elena earlier in the woods. Damon couldn't take another emotional conversation when he had Elena back at the cabin.

"I do, brother," Damon hissed as he started throwing pieces into the water.

"No," Stefan reached out and put his hand on Damon's arm. Damon tensed as Stefan held him in place. "You don't. I can finish this while you go back to Elena. She's waiting for you; probably terrified and confused right now."

Damon turned away from his brother, knowing that he was right, but he didn't want to admit that. "Then you go back and comfort her until I return."

Damon ripped his arm out from Stefan and continued what he was doing.

"She doesn't want me anymore, Damon. She's made that clear and I have to respect that." Stefan started collecting Mason's body parts and chucking them into the water. "Go to her. Make things right again."

"I don't know what to say to her," Damon admitted.

Stefan barked out a laugh. "The girl you've been in love with for months finally tells you that she loves you and now you don't know what to say? Figure it out, brother," Stefan insisted. "She's waiting for you."

Damon zoomed back to the cabin and walked through the door at a normal speed. Elena was still sitting on the couch with the blanket wrapped around her. She had red eyes from exhaustion and crying. Her stare was blank and she didn't even flinch or look his way the moment he walked in.

"Elena?" She raised her chin a little in acknowledgement but she didn't turn her eyes away from the fire. He crouched down in front of her and rested both of his hands on her shoulders. God, he was such an idiot. He caused her this pain.

"Did I do something wrong?" Elena whispered.

"No, Ace," Damon conceded. "I did though. God," he ran his fingers down the side of her face and cupped her cheek. "I shouldn't have left. I should have said something."

Elena blinked once and then softly smiled. "It's okay."

"No," Damon said, "it's not okay. I'm not good at this, Elena. Whatever we're doing, I'm just not good at. I have a temper, I'm impatient, and I lose control. And I've waited for a long time to hear you say those words, but not once did I ever imagine you saying them right after a near death experience. You shouldn't have even been in danger and I should have protected you, but I couldn't."

Damon looked down in shame, but was surprised when Elena's hands covered his own as if she was his own personal security blanket.

"It's okay, Damon," Elena emphasized.

Damon looked up and Elena was grinning down at him. "I love you so much, and just the thought that you can love me half as much as I love you scares me a little. I've never been first when it comes to my brother and I've never wanted a relationship since 1864. So just seeing you after Mason's attack made my blood boil." Damon took a breath before looking Elena straight in the eye to make his point known. "I lost control the moment I saw Mason's body on the porch. I can't lose you. Not now; not ever. I don't know what I would do."

"You won't lose me, Damon. I'll always come back. I love you."

Lips collided in a blinding kiss that had Damon shaking to his core. He wasn't use to kissing with such feeling but Elena brought that out in him. He would do anything for her and she knew that.

Felling vulnerable, but he would never admit that to Elena, he requested: "Say that again."

"I love you," Elena smeared against his lips before his mouth traveled lower on her body; pushing off the blanket. His hands gripped the bottom of her t-shirt and ripped it up her body into two different parts.

Elena's giggle filled his ears and it was like music. "That was your shirt, you know." She pointed out.

Damon grinned from ear to ear and he climbed on top of her. "It looked good on you, but it looks even better off," he whispered into her ear and enjoyed the way he could hear her heart skip a beat.

Her skin was flush against his as his core grinded into her sex. Elena's sweet arousal filled his nostrils as he moved down her body. Giving her his best devilish grin he lowered her panties down her long legs.

Giving light touches he traveled up her body again as Elena's hands reached into his hair and gave a tug. She drew blood the last time they were together and she moaned his name. This time he was going to make her scream so anyone nearby knew that she was his.

Damon spread her legs open as much as the couch allowed and before Elena could question what he was about to do he let his tongue run up and down her folds. Whatever she was about to say died off on her tongue as he ate her out.

He had her moaning and thrashing. His hand reached up and steadied her because she kept arching into his mouth. Damon kept giving as Elena's heart was erratic and her skin was glowing. He would pull her closer to the edge but right before she would stumble over into ecstasy, he would pull her back just to start her up again.

"Damon," Elena purred. Her breathing was breathy and perfect as she tried to climax. "Damon please…"

He used two fingers to spread her open and then his tongue pushed in.

"Damon!" Elena exclaimed. "I'm going to…"

Damon tasted Elena as her body shook gloriously. It took a moment for her to relax and after Damon rid himself of his pants he climbed Elena's body. He put his used fingers near her mouth.

"I want you to taste yourself; see how good you are." He didn't know how Elena would react to such a request, but was somewhat surprised when she opened her mouth and sucked on his finger. Her tongue twirled around his digit provocatively and Damon groaned. If Elena was implying what he thought she was implying then he couldn't wait for the demon in her to come out. But that would have to wait.

"What do you want Ace?" Damon whispered hotly in her ear. His body was covering hers and his erection was throbbing to be released.

"I want you, Damon. I want you inside of me," Elena panted as her cheeks flushed red.

Damon meant for his actions to be slow and loving and caring, but the moment he was engulfed in Elena's tightness his primal urges took over. His thrusting was fast and meaningful. Elena met him thrust for thrust, her nails gripping onto his shoulders for support.

"Damon…please…oh god," Elena was chanting as her body started to convulse around him. Damon didn't think Elena knew what she was saying as her body was overwhelmed with emotions.

Damon was close too, but he didn't want to finish quite yet. The hardest thing he ever did was pull out of Elena in that moment. She threw her eyes open in surprise and it looked like she was ready to murder him for leaving her like that.

"Get on your hands and knees," he demanded. His voice was even rough to his own ears as Elena obliged without question. Damon took a deep breath the moment he saw her perfect ass. His hands gripped her and he entered her from behind.

Elena nearly buckled from the new angle.

"Fuck, Elena," Damon snarled the moment she swiveled her hips. He bent down and kissed up her back as far as he could. He whispered in her ear, "Do you have any idea what you do to me? Your pussy is so wet for me; just me. No one gets to touch you like this, right?" He thumb reached down and pressed on her clit.

Elena nearly screamed, but he could tell she was holding back. He grinned against her back as he lowered his forehead and inhaled her sweet scent. If he wasn't careful, his fangs would come out to play. Elena may say that she's okay with him biting her for blood, but he didn't think she would appreciate it if his fangs came out unexpectedly because he found her so delectable.

"That's it, Elena. Fucking scream for me." His finger pressed down again and Elena screamed his name in passion.

"Damon," she begged as she rocked back into him. "Don't stop…please don't stop. Fuck that's…Damon!" Her body coiled around his cock and Damon thrust once more before he was able to finish inside of her.

They both came to a slow stop and Damon withdrew himself from her. He leaned over her shoulder and pressed a kiss to the inside of her neck.

"Happy Valentine's day, Elena."

* * *

The weekend was coming to an end and Elena sat in Damon's car with a small pout on her face. They were just outside Mystic Falls and so it was time to get back to reality.

"What's with the face?" Damon teased. "I thought we ended on a good note."

Elena blushed just thinking about what she and Damon did that morning. She swore Damon didn't have an off button as he was always thinking about sex. He had surprised her in the shower, however, she had a surprise up her sleeve as she had sunk to her knees and had given him pleasure. He didn't let her finish though and instead pulled her back to her feet and impaled her with no mercy.

That was Elena's first time having sex in the shower.

"We did, but," she hesitated before continuing. "Now we have to go back to the real world and deal with moonstones, doppelgangers, Klaus, and rituals. There's still so much that we don't know. We don't even know when the ritual is. For all we know Klaus could be coming for me tomorrow."

Damon's hand laced through hers and his thumb stroked over her palm. "Klaus doesn't know that you exist and if he does then he doesn't know where you live. Katherine ran for five hundred years and if what she's saying is true then Klaus needs the human doppelganger. He has no way of knowing that you were born yet."

"If he does though Damon, then I have to be used for the ritual."

"What?" Damon exclaimed and Elena shrunk back in her seat. "Why?"

"He will go after anyone that I care about. Jeremy, Jenna, Stefan, and you. I can't put all my friends and family at risk just for my life." Elena chewed on her bottom lip. She had a feeling that this would be a problem for them. She was stubborn with her decisions and so was Damon.

"Like hell are you giving yourself up. We will find another way and that's final."

"Damon, we have to talk about this. We obviously disagree."

"Fine, we'll talk about it later. Right now we don't know much so there's not a lot to talk about and we're outside your house and I see Jenna peeking outside the window." Damon pointed towards the window and Jenna quickly shut the blinds.

Elena sighed and decided to let it go. Damon did have a point; there was no point in arguing about something if they didn't have all the details.

"I don't want this weekend to end," Elena whispered as she turned to Damon. "How am I suppose to sleep in my empty bed without you?" Elena smirked and looked at Damon from the corner of her eye.

Damon lifted the corner of his mouth. "Miss. Gilbert, are you trying to seduce me? Cause it's working."

Just before Damon could do anything they both saw Alaric peek through the window. Damon sighed. "Caught by the history teacher."

Damon carried her bag and when they opened the door they saw Isobel and John sitting in the living room. Bonnie was surprisingly over and was at the kitchen table with Jeremy. They were looking through some of her grandma's witch books.

"Um…am I missing something here?" Elena asked.

Alaric and Jenna both looked tense as Jenna politely brought Isobel and John some tea.

"Elena," Jenna said shakily. "Your…_mother_…is here."

"She's not my mother," Elena spat. "The last time I talked to her she made it damn well clear that she wanted nothing to do with me. Did you invite her in?" She whirled on John.

"You need to hear her out, Elena," John said calmly. He put his tea cup aside and stood up. "She's here to help."

Elena looked at Damon with uncertainty.

"Alright," Damon said with a forced smile. Elena knew that look. If things took a wrong term, Damon was already tense, he wouldn't react kindly. "Let's hear you out. Any bullshit and I'll stake you myself."

Jenna sucked in a breath and Elena vaguely heard Alaric whisper to Jenna, "It's okay. He knows what he's doing."

Isobel stood up. "I've been doing research for about a year now. Ever since I saw Elena for the first time after giving her up I knew she was going to look like Katherine; that she was the doppelganger. And what I've learned is that Klaus is untouchable. There is no way to him right now."

"This sounds _real_ helpful," Damon said sarcastically.

"Where exactly are you going with this?" Alaric asked unimpressed. He stood next to Damon and had his arms crossed like a protective father.

Elena couldn't describe what she felt. She may have lost her parents but Jenna and Alaric proved that they would do anything to save her. In a way, they were like her parents now and that touched Elena more than she could describe.

"I'm saying that I've worked closely with Katherine. We're friends."

"Wrong," Damon interrupted again. "Katherine doesn't do friends. Try again with the truth this time."

"She is my friend, Damon," Isobel hissed. "She has taught me everything I know about being a vampire. And one of the main things that she's taught me is how to run. This state, this town, and this house are not safe for you Elena. Look at how easy it was for me to get invited in? All it takes is one slip up and a vampire can come in."

"I have a house prepared for you. No vampires can get in; not even me. It's in your name." Isobel stood in front of Elena with solemn eyes. "Just say the word and it's all yours."

"She's not leaving her family," Jenna snarled. "You can't just take her away."

"She's not your kid, Jenna. As much as you want her to be, she's not." John stood next to Isobel now and Elena watched as they held hands like a united front. "Elena is our child. Not yours, not his," John motioned to Alaric who looked like he was seeing red just as much as Jenna, "And she definitely is not Damon or Stefan's."

"What's going on?" Jeremy asked as he and Bonnie appeared in the living room doorway. Everyone was tense in the room.

"We found something," Bonnie announced. "Earlier in the week Jeremy told me that at Duke University, you guys found research that said a werewolf's bite could kill a vampire, and at first that sounded like a myth, but I'm starting to think it's true." Bonnie flipped to a page in her book. "My Grahms wrote about this witch coven in northern Virginia. They've been building power for a couple of years to break some curse. She doesn't specify." Bonnie hesitated. "But she does mention a human, stone, werewolves, and a vampire. They all fit together."

"Can you get into contact with any of these witches?" John asked.

"I can try. My Grahms knew them so she has to have some information on them at her house. I'll check."

"John," Elena spoke up. "Let's get one thing straight." Her voice was strong and firm. She had never used this tone on someone before. Usually she was levelheaded and sensible. She liked to give the benefit of the doubt, but John invited Isobel into her home. She didn't feel safe knowing that Isobel was a loose cannon. "You may be my father, but I will never be your daughter."

Elena turned to walk away, but John shot his hand out and caught her by the wrist. She gasped at the contact and tried to pull away, but John stayed strong.

"We have to talk, Elena," John demanded.

Damon had John pinned against the wall within a second by his shirt collar. John struggled as his toes hardly touched the ground.

"Oh my God," Jenna breathed. She still wasn't accustomed to such events.

"Don't touch her," Damon snarled. His vampire face came into play as he tightened his grip on the human. "You tried to burn me alive. Don't think I won't return the favor if you ever try to grab her again. Understand?"

Damon shook John against the wall again and by this time his face was turning a shade of purple. "Damon," Elena whispered.

Damon looked between John and her. Elena saw the struggle in Damon's eye as his black veins slowly faded and his eyes turned back to a brilliant blue. His hands didn't drop John, however, and she put her hand on Damon's arm in a gentle motion. Damon just wanted to protect her, but killing her biological father wouldn't fix anything. No matter how much Elena hated John, she didn't want to see him dead.

"Elena, look out," Alaric warned as he pulled her away just as Isobel charged Damon. Damon dropped John to the ground like a sack of potatoes and used one hand to push into Isobel's charging form. She went across the room and crashed into the wall; plaster falling from the ceiling.

Alaric had his arm around Elena's shoulders and put her behind himself. Isobel wasn't trying to hurt her, but Elena was glad that Alaric moved her out of Isobel's attempt to free John.

Damon's vampire face was out again as he growled at Isobel when she picked herself up from the floor.

"Damon," Elena whispered, "I'm okay. Let's just go. Please? Be the better man."

John looked up at Elena and Alaric and spat. "You're not her father. Get your hands off of her. She doesn't need protection from me. She needs protection from you; you bastard."

Alaric yanked John up and slammed his fist into his face.

"Good work buddy," Damon said with a smirk before taking a breath. "I think my work here is done." Damon looked at Jenna. "Sorry about your wall. I'll fix it tomorrow."

Jenna just looked stunned; much like Jeremy and Bonnie who stood frozen. "It's okay," she stuttered.

"Meeting at the boarding house sometime this week. I'll tweet the details," Damon joked while looking at Jeremy and Bonnie. "Get a hold of this coven."

When Damon stood in front of Elena she felt an overwhelming sense of pride that Damon was able to pull away from John. She knew it took all of Damon's self control to pull away from violence when he was protecting the one he cared about. Usually, the he had total self control over everything he did, however, Damon lashed out whenever he felt threatened.

"Are you okay?" He carefully looked at her wrist which only had a slight redness to it. His fingers brushed over the discoloration and Elena felt electricity shoot through her body. Damon's touch set a fire in the pit of her stomach, but she did her best to brush it aside until they were alone.

"I'm fine," she reassured him. "Let's just go, okay?"

"Okay."

* * *

Days seemed to blur together the more Elena spent time with Damon. Everything seemed to go back to normal; everyone going about their business while spending free time doing research on Klaus. They hadn't found much, except the witch coven that Bonnie was going to visit. Stefan had volunteered to go with just in case something happened and Katherine was only going because of Stefan.

Elena had a feeling that Katherine and Stefan were growing closer and closer the more time they spent together. As much as Stefan said that he hated Katherine, Elena knew that he was only saying that. His humanity, the small part of him that remembered being human, still had feelings for Katherine. And Elena was oddly okay with that. She just didn't want to see Stefan get hurt. She wanted to tell him that, but she had no right to talk to him about being careful. She was the one who hurt him in the first place and she had to accept that.

Caroline was getting closer and closer to Tyler, making sure that his werewolf gene wasn't activated. It was harder and harder the closer the full moon approached. It seemed he had a temper to begin with, but the moon brought out a whole other side of him. Anything could set him off. He also started to question Caroline about how she was able to overpower him one day. Caroline told Elena that she told Tyler everything about her. She left out everyone else though and so surprisingly when Elena told Damon he wasn't that upset.

Bonnie and Jeremy were getting closer and closer the more they researched together. Elena had offered to help, but she figured Bonnie actually liked spending time with Jeremy. She knew there was tension between her best friend and brother and so Elena just let them handle it. If they ended up dating then at least Elena knew that Bonnie was a good person.

Bonnie on the other hand started giving Elena more and more space as the weeks passed. She still wasn't keen on Elena dating Damon. They only time they really spoke to each other was at school when they would be at their lockers along with Caroline. Bonnie avoided speaking about Damon as much as possible, while on the other hand, Caroline wanted all the dirty details. At first Caroline wasn't the biggest supporter, but the moment she saw Elena express her love to Damon she boarded the ship of Damon and Elena.

And although Elena missed Bonnie, she was blissfully happy with Damon. He was constantly surprising her as he took her out on dates to distract her. She never really pictured Damon as being that guy who liked going to movies or walks in the park, but she was starting to realize that on the outside he was the 'bad boy' of the town and on the inside he was a big softie for her.

She still wasn't too clear on what he was doing throughout the day. She knew Damon helped run the Founding Council, and now that John and Isobel seemed to leave town Damon was in charge with Liz Forbes. He had told Elena that he was handling all the vampire business in town so that way no one was outted, but it was becoming extremely difficult to cover up Caroline, Katherine, and him stealing blood bags from the local hospital. Liz was starting to get suspicious of something.

Damon still hadn't fed from her, and Elena was becoming anxious of that. She wanted him to taste her, experience her blood so she could give him everything, but each time she offered he just kissed her and shook his head silently.

Elena knew it was becoming difficult for Damon to resist her, however, because he was actually out of blood bags that night. They had just gotten back from dinner together. He had taken her to a nice Italian restaurant on the outskirts of town, and when they return back to the boarding house after every date Elena knew that Damon liked to go down to the basement and drink a blood bag.

When he came upstairs right away she knew that he was out of them. She had seen Caroline take the last one the day before when she was over at the boarding house; talking to Damon about how wary Liz was becoming. Of course, Liz never suspects Damon or Caroline of being a vampire, but she knew that there were vampires in town and she wanted to catch them.

"Everything okay?" Elena asked as she poured him a glass of bourbon and handed it to him. He smiled his thanks and gulped the drink down.

"I'm just parched," Damon smiled with gleaming white teeth. "I think Blondie took my last stash. I really should teach her how to steal so she can get her own instead of coming over here."

Damon wrapped his arms around Elena's lower back and pulled her close. Her hands reached up and wrapped themselves around his neck. She was swaying with Damon to their own beat inside their heads. Somehow they always knew how to move together without even talking.

"Have I told you just how gorgeous you look tonight?" Damon husked out as he nipped at her ear and nuzzled his face in her neck.

Elena was wearing a black dress that had a plunging neck line. It showed more cleavage than she was used to, but the dress fit her perfectly that she didn't care. Her back was showing, the only thing holding the dress up was two thin straps that crossed in the middle of her back. It cut off mid thigh so Damon could see her tan legs.

"Well you should like it since you bought it last week," Elena teased. "Which by the way, I thought we talked about this. No buying me things. I saw the price tag; it was _way_ too expensive."

"Yes, we talked about it, but I never agreed with you." Damon's hands tickled her back as he soothed her. Elena leaned her head on his shoulder and breathed in his scent. They didn't have to worry about anyone interrupting them since Stefan and Katherine were still with Bonnie until the next day.

"I don't want you spending money on me," Elena murmured.

"I have all the money in the world. This hardly cost me anything. Let me spoil you, Ace."

Elena silently rolled her eyes and smiled when Damon pressed a kiss to the inside of her neck and moaned.

"You have no idea what you do to me."

Elena's hand slipped down and she gently squeezed his steel hard erection. She giggled softly.

"I think I have an idea."

Damon started to unzip the back of her dress. Before Elena let the straps slide down her lean arms she stopped Damon for a moment.

"I want you, Damon." She started to slowly unbutton his dark blue dress shirt. She shyly looked up at him. Even after being with him for a month she still blushed under his dark, intense stare. "I want to give you everything."

Once his dress shirt was out of the way she pushed her curled hair to one side of her neck to expose her other half.

"I want you to taste me tonight."


End file.
